Senior co-captain Greg Bettencourt has booked his ticket for Houston, Texas, and will be representing the Jumbos at the 2007 NCAA Div. III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on March 15-17.
"I'm really happy for him," coach Adam Hoyt said. "It's always an honor to make the meet - it's the highest level of competition at the Div. III level, and he's part of it. It will be his second year going there, so he knows what to expect. It will give him a good opportunity to compete against the best."
Bettencourt qualified for NCAAs with his preliminary performance in the 500-meter freestyle at last week's NESCAC Championships. His time of 4:36.27 in the event earned him a 16th seed for nationals. For the senior, the NCAAs are a chance to see how the NESCAC compares to the rest of the nation's top swimmers.
"The NESCAC Championship is the climax of our season," Bettencourt said. "We put all our heart into that meet. But it's awesome to get a shot to compete at the national level. All season long we get to see the best that the NESCAC has to offer, but it's not until the National meet that you realize just how good that talent is. There are always NESCAC guys all over the top 10 in every race."
Bettencourt made his first appearance at the 2006 NCAA Championships as a junior, placing 8th in the 500 freestyle and setting the Tufts 500 free record with his preliminary time of 4:32.57. He was also 13th in the 200 freestyle and 39th overall in the 100 freestyle at the NCAAs last March.
"Last year I went into the meet with a single goal: swim faster than [I swam] at NESCAC's," Bettencourt said. "This year my goals are exactly the same. Not every race at the conference meet goes 100 percent as planned, so it's great to get one more shot to nail it."
Because Bettencourt has already qualified for the 500 freestyle at the NCAAs, he will be allowed to compete in a total of three events. On the Official Psyche Sheet, Bettencourt will most likely swim in the 200 and 1,650 freestyle. His time of 1:42.45 seconds in the 200 free and 16:20.53 in the 1,650 free rank him 25th nationally. Both times were submitted during the 2007 NESCAC meet, where he placed second in the 200 free and took fourth in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyle.
On top of seeing all the best swimmers from across the nation, the NCAA Championships offer something unique for NESCAC rival teams: a chance to come together and represent their conference. Throughout the season, Jumbo swimmers go head to head with NESCAC rivals Williams, Amherst and Middlebury and are less than friendly during competition. But once NCAAs role around, the rivalry is put on hold as the NESCAC swimmers pull together to show the rest of the nation the strength of the New England programs.
"The NCAA meet is a ton different than the NESCAC Championships in that the NESCAC schools are no longer bitter rivals, but allies trying to show the country what the NESCAC is all about," Bettencourt said. "Since each NESCAC team doesn't have its full squad in attendance, the schools tend to join forces as a NESCAC team and pull for each other - something you certainly wouldn't see at the NESCAC meet or any dual meet during the season."
For Bettencourt, the trip to Houston marks the culmination of four years as a Jumbo and represents an opportunity to put a stamp on his college career.
"Being my senior year, this meet will be even more emotionally intense and adrenaline-charged than last year," Bettencourt said. "It will be a ton of fun. I didn't make the finals at the NESCAC meet my freshman year, so to think that just four years later I would be swimming my last meet at the National Championships is pretty awesome. I'm psyched."
"He's certainly a unique athlete," Hoyt said. "He comes to the pool with an extremely high level of focus, yet an easygoing attitude that makes his teammates and his coaches feel comfortable. It's that consistent performance that has allowed him to be so successful."
Bettencourt will begin his lineup of events March 15, with the 500 freestyle, and race the 200 and 1,650 freestyle the following two days.
