With season openers upon us, spring athletes are breaking in their gloves, restringing their rackets and waiting for the snow to melt as members of Tufts winter sports teams are readjusting to off-season schedules and enjoying some time off. But don't tell that to Bianca Spinosa. This freshman's season, which started back in the fall, is just now coming to an end as she represented Tufts in the NCAA Div. III National Championships this past weekend.
Although only in her first year, Spinosa was the only member of the women's swimming and diving team to qualify for Nationals, and the trip to Hope College in Holland, MI is the cherry on top of a standout freshman season that yielded four school records and All-NESCAC honors.
Spinosa qualified provisionally in the 100-yard butterfly with her 58.15 time at the NESCAC championships on Feb. 19, which set a new Tufts record in that event and provisionally qualified her for Nationals. In addition to their qualifying event, the NCAA lets swimmers choose two optional events, and Spinosa also raced in the 50 free on Thursday and the 200 fly on Saturday.
Although she failed to finish in the top 16 to move into the final round of any of her events, Spinosa's presence at Nationals as a freshman, competing against the best swimmers in the country, bodes well for the women's swimming program as she returns for her sophomore season.
Spinosa finished 31st in her featured event, the 100 fly, in a time of 1:00.42 for her highest finish of the meet. In her optional events, she finished 48th in the 50 free (26.32) and 35th in the 200 fly (2:20.70).
"I didn't perform as well as I had hoped," she said. "I swam my best times at the NESCAC championships, and I was completely tapered and in great shape for that meet. I don't think I was quite as well prepared for Nationals, but it was definitely a great experience competing against the best swimmers in the country."
Coach Nancy Bigelow highlighted the positives that Spinosa can take away from Nationals.
"It's quite an honor to even be there since only 210 swimmers are invited," she said. "She had a rough couple of weeks mentally, not knowing whether she was going [to Nationals] or not, but I think it was a great learning experience for her. It gave her some confidence, and to compete at such a high level, confidence is critical."
Spinosa has immediately made an impact for the women's swimming program, setting two individual and two relay records. In addition to breaking the existing record time on the 100 fly, Spinosa also made her way into the record books on the 50 fly, swimming a 26.26 at NESCAC championships.
Spinosa also set two relay team records this season, in the 200 and 400 medley relays. Along with Sophomore Chloe Young-Hyman, and freshmen Monika Burns and Tia Bassano, the foursome swam a 1:49.80 in the 200 medley relay for a fifth place finish at NESCACs and set a Tufts record. She teamed up with Bassano, freshman Alison Palomaski, and junior Katie Mims to finish in a Tufts-best 4:02.84 in the 400 medley.
Bigelow commented on her freshman's first-year performance.
"I was hoping she would [make a big impact this season]," she said. "She sounded like that type of athlete-still hungry, not burned out. You can hear the hunger in her voice, and she's an extremely hard worker, and that's really going to show next year."
Spinosa's appearance marks the fifth straight year that a Jumbo has gone to Nationals. Last year, senior Mika Sumiyoshi, billed as the most dominant female swimmer in Tufts history, finished fourth and sixth nationally in the 200 and 400 individual medleys, earning All-American status in both, and bolstering the Tufts swimming program on the national level.
Emory College came away from Nationals with the NCAA title, edging out Kenyon, who has won 20 of the 24 years of the championship's existence. Four NESCAC teams finished in the top ten nationally, with Williams at third, Amherst at fourth, and Colby and Middlebury filling in the eight- and nine-spots. At the NESCAC championships in February, those four teams finished first, second, fourth and third respectively.
