For most of the women's swimming and diving team, the NESCAC meet marks the pinnacle of its season. But this year, four Jumbos - two swimmers, senior tri-captains Chloe Young-Hyman and Jess Bollinger, and two divers, junior Kendall Swett and freshman Lindsay Gardel - did not turn in their suits after the NESCAC meet Feb. 18 and will compete in Div. III nationals March 8-10 at the University of Houston.
This is the largest number of competitors to qualify in the last decade.
Along with the diving qualifiers, freshman Kara Lindquist is the first diving alternate, while freshman Kelsey Bell is the third alternate.
In the national swimming format, each swimmer only has to qualify in one event but can choose two others in which to compete. The races are set up as preliminaries and finals, with the top eight times from preliminaries advancing to the championship final, and the next eight times progressing to the consolation final.
For the dives, each athlete completes 11 dives in preliminaries, with the top eight divers competing in the championship finals and consolation finals. In the finals, the divers are required to dive the first six dives they did in preliminaries. Places one through eight are awarded an All-American plaque, and nine through 16 receive honorable mention All-American plaques.
Young-Hyman is one of two Jumbo competitors who participated in nationals last year, qualifying in the 100 breaststroke, her marquis event, with a time of 1:06.61 at NESCACs. Young-Hyman finished 17th last year in this event at nationals, one place away from an All-American plaque. This year, she is the 15th seed going into competition.
Young-Hyman will also be participating in the 200 breaststroke and 50 freestyle, where she holds the 30th and 39th seeds, respectively.
Bollinger qualified for the national meet with her 400 IM time, where she grabbed the last available qualifying spot in the event with her time of 4:37.52. The senior swam a B-cut time her freshman year, but did not end up receiving an invitation to the national meet.
"I was told that I wasn't going [to nationals] on Wednesday morning, so finding out on Friday was a huge shock," Bollinger said. "I'm so excited because I've always wanted to go, and so I'm just going to try to go out there and swim as fast or faster than I did at NESCACs."
This season has been one of redemption for Bollinger, as she has set numerous personal records, and has consistently put points on the board for her team. Bollinger will also swim the 500 and 1650 freestyle, displaying her versatility.
On the diving side, Swett, a transfer student from Lake Forest College, is no stranger to nationals. She has competed in each of her three seasons, and was the national champion in the 3-meter dive last year, while taking third in the 1-meter dive. Swett set the NESCAC record in the 1-meter dive at the championships last weekend and came less than a point away from setting it in the 3-meter dive as well.
"[At nationals,] my goal is to final in both boards and make all American again, as well as putting together some solid dives," Swett said.
To gain a berth to nationals, divers must first qualify by hitting the national standards, and then be selected by a committee who examines the divers performances over the year. Swett's domination of New England left little doubt she would be selected, but as the returning national champion, she has a big target on her back. Adding to this is the pressure of seeing her old coach from Lake Forest College for the first time since she transferred to Tufts.
"There is additional pressure [as a returning national champion], but more so, I'm a little nervous about seeing my old coach," Swett said. "It's hard to dive well at nationals, but its harder to do well if you're nervous about something, but that's also good because I came here for a challenge."
Often overshadowed by Swett's achievements during the year, Gardel put together a tremendous diving season, finishing third in both the three-meter and one-meter events at NESCACs.
"I think Lindsay will do really well," Swett said. "It's her first nationals meet, but I think she's really capable of going top ten on both boards."
Classmates Lindquist and Bell narrowly missed nationals, though as the first and third alternates, respectively, they will continue practicing on the off-chance they will be given a shot to compete. For any team, coming so close to sending four divers to nationals is a mark of great depth.
In the two weeks leading up to nationals, the Jumbos will continue practicing hard, continuing their taper without losing their fitness. The Jumbos expressed their gratitude not only to be able to compete at nationals, but also to have their three teammates there to support them.
"I'm so excited to go with a bunch of people," Bollinger said. "The girls who have qualified have worked really hard and really deserve to be there.
"Last year it was two of us so it kind of makes it feel like we have a real team going down [this year], I'm really excited," Swett added.
