April 26, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The future is bright.
For a phrase that is tossed around so much, often times with nothing more than simple optimism as proof, never has it been so true as when applied to Northwestern women's swimming and diving's 2006-07 season.
Consider these numbers from the past season:
The Wildcats placed 20 new entries on their all-time top-10 performers list.
The Wildcats broke a school relay record for the first time since 2000.
Four Wildcats were named All-Big Ten, the program's most since 2000 (when NU placed sixth at the NCAA Championships).
Five Wildcats represented NU at the NCAA Championships, with junior Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) earning her third-consecutive All-America honor in the 100 free.
Three Norris Aquatics Center pool records fell at the hands of Northwestern.
The Wildcats accounted for 20 different NCAA `B' provisional qualifying times and one `A' automatic qualification effort.
These performances and accolades all are impressive and bode well for the future of the program, but they become even more so when considering this important fact: Northwestern had not one senior on its roster in 2006-07.
Youth definitely was served for NU, propelled by one of the top freshman classes in the nation and anchored by an experienced group of juniors that made giant strides.
Not shying away from swimming against the best, the Wildcats faced No. 1 California in its opening dual meet of the season, falling to the Golden Bears at the Norris Aquatics Center. Competing against the top teams in the nation would be a theme held throughout the dual-meet schedule; NU concluded the season at 3-6 overall, but all six losses came to teams ranked in the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) poll at some point during the year.
Because of their performances and challenging schedule, the Wildcats themselves were the second-highest team receiving votes outside of the top 25 at the end of the year.
Early in the season, Northwestern's freshmen began asserting themselves as forces to be reckoned with, especially in the distance events. Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) won several events in the fall against ranked opponents, while Jenn Kocsis (Omaha, Neb./Marian) picked up her first-career win on Nov. 4 in the 500 free against Purdue. Shishkoff's first-career NCAA `B' cut time came in just her second collegiate meet when she won the 500 free with a time of 4:51.85 against a ranked Indiana team.
Also winning events, earning NCAA provisional qualification times and making the NU all-time top-10 during their first collegiate seasons were backstroker Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines), flyer Rachel Rys (Goleta, Calif./Dos Pueblos) and sprint freestyler Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's).
Shishkoff found her way into Northwestern's all-time top-10 in five different individual events as a freshman, with her best performance coming in the 400 IM where swam a 4:19.41 during the year to rank second in Wildcats' history. She also rates in the top-10 in the 200 free (8th), the 500 free (3rd), the 1,000 free (4th) and the 1,650 free (5th).
After a particularly impressive performance against No. 16 Tennessee in which Shishkoff won four events with `B' cuts in each including a Norris pool-record 16:28.01 swim in the 1,650 free, she was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week and Collegeswimming.com and Swimming World Magazine National Collegiate Swimmer of the Week.
Szymanksi turned in the fourth-best 200 back time in NU history during the year, Rys now rates eighth in the 200 fly and Wong is ranked seventh in the 50 free, fourth in the 100 free and seventh in the 200 free.
Though she did not win any events this season, freshman Mary Beth Francis (San Diego, Calif./Mission Viejo) served as another member of NU's deep distance group, earning the No. 10 position on Northwestern's all-time top-10 list with a time of 16:52.25 in the 1,650 free.
Freshman Stacy Congdon (Windermere, Fla./Lake Highland) rounded out the freshman swimming group, becoming NU's third-quickest swimmer of the season in the 100 fly with a career-best 56.94 at the Big Ten Championships. Overall, freshmen had the quickest times of the season in six individual events.
With all of those accomplishments, clearly this freshman class had one of the best debut seasons in school history. They were not without complements from their upperclass counterparts, however.
Led by the junior Hupman, whose 16th-place finish in the 100 free at the NCAA Championships accounted for Northwestern's scoring at the 2006-07 meet, the Wildcats' upperclassmen also turned in some promising performances last year.
Hupman broke the Norris pool record in the 100 free with a time of 49.85 during the four-team TYR Invitational, which NU won handily.
Junior Jessie Bailis (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) became the fourth-fastest Wildcat ever in the 100 breast with a time of 1:03.06 at the Big Ten Championships, while sophomore Hayley Fry (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) had the team's fastest time of the year in the 200 breast with a 2:17.80 at the Big Ten meet.
Junior Katie Braun (Edina, Minn./Edina) swam a 54.71 in the 100 fly to take over No. 6 on NU's all-time top-10 list, and she also qualified for her first NCAA Championships as a member of the 400 free relay.
Five Wildcats earned trips to the NCAA meet in 2007, the most since the Wildcats finished sixth in 2000. Hupman, Braun, Kocsis, Wong and Shishkoff comprised the group of two juniors and three freshmen that competed in the 400 free and 800 free relays, and 11 individual events.
The 800 free relay that qualified for NCAA's featured the team of Wong, Kocsis, Shishkoff and Hupman. They finished second at the Big Ten Championships to earn All-Big Ten honors, breaking a 13-year-old school record with a time of 7:13.92.
In addition to the 800 free relay, all four of NU's other relays earned spots on the school's all-time top-10 list with their performances in 2006-07.
Providing depth during the season were sophomores Jill Forster (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), who was the team's third-fastest swimmer in the breaststroke events, and Sara White-Delehoy (Kent, Wash./Kentlake), who was NU's third-fastest in the 200 back this year.
Northwestern's diving squad went through a coaching change during the offseason, with internationally renowned Alik Sarkisian taking over the reins. Junior Beth Campbell (Burr Ridge, Ill./Fenwick) served as a team captain this year (along with Bailis and junior Carrera Harris (Shafter, Calif./Shafter), who missed much of the year with an injury) and was complemented on the boards by freshman Tania Lyerly (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville).
Returning next year will be senior Leanne Dumais (Ventura, Calif./Buena), who missed the entire season with an injury.
Northwestern also continued its tradition of excelling academically, earning team Academic All-America honors from the CSCAA with the 11th-best team GPA in Division I. Seven individual Wildcats picked up Academic All-Big Ten honors: Bailis, Campbell, Forster, Fry, Harris, Hupman and White-Delehoy.
So while it may be cliché to say, the sky really is the limit for Northwestern after the foundation laid by a young and talented group of 'Cats in 2006-07. Several of these swimmers and divers will be seniors in 2007-08, and with their previous performances and milestones already achieved coupled with one of the most talented classes in school history out to build on its historic freshman year, Northwestern will be painting plenty of pools -- and record boards -- purple in the near future.