March 6, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- On the heels of its most successful meet in program history, Northwestern has qualified eight swimmers for the NCAA Championships according to the official Psych Sheet released today by the NCAA.
The Wildcats broke 10 school records and won a pair of titles at the Big Ten Championships in February, and that success has translated into Northwestern's biggest contingent of NCAA-bound swimmers since the 'Cats finished a program-best sixth in the nation with nine entrants in 2000.
Northwestern's entries will combine for 18 swims in 10 individual events in addition to berths for a trio of relays. Most impressive about those numbers is the fact this NCAA field is the fastest in the history of the meet; traditionally six-to-eight `B' provisional times make the invitation cut per event, but the 2008 entry list contains just 10 in the entire field.
"This year's NCAA Championships have the fastest qualifying times in the history of the meet," Northwestern head coach Jimmy Tierney said. "This will easily be the most difficult meet ever at the NCAA level, and to have eight girls qualify for the field is a fantastic tribute to this team and to our program."
Senior Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood) highlights Northwestern's contingent after setting three Big Ten records, winning two conference titles and earning Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships honors. Hupman is the fifth seed in the 200 free, the ninth seed in the 100 free and the 10th seed in the 40 free.
A three-time honorable mention All-American in the 100 free, Hupman is attempting to become Northwestern's first swimmer to win All-America accolades in all four of her collegiate seasons since Amy Balcerzak and Dominique Diezi accomplished the feat from 1997-2000.
Hupman also is a member of Northwestern's 200, 400 and 800 free relays that qualified for the meet. The 200 and 400 relays both earned NCAA `A' cuts during the year, while the 400 and 800 relays both broke Northwestern's school records at the Big Ten Championships this season. The 200 free relay is the meet's 13th seed, the 400 free relay is the 14th seed and the 800 free relay is the 15th seed.
Sophomore Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School) will compete for Northwestern as the 21st seed in the 500 free, the 28th seed in the 400 IM and the 33rd seed in the 1,650 free. An NCAA veteran after swimming the same three events at last year's Championships, Shishkoff holds the NU record in the 400 IM after the Big Ten Championships. She also is a member of the 400 and 800 free relays which qualified for the NCAA meet.
Also qualifying for three individual events at the NCAA Championships is freshman Ellen Grigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School), who will swim as the 18th seed in the 500 free, the 34th seed in the 1,650 free and the 60th seed in the 200 free. Grigg is the current school record holder in the 500 free after breaking Shishkoff's mark set just one heat earlier during prelims of the Big Ten Championships. She also is a member of NU's 800 free relay that qualified for the NCAA meet.
Sophomore Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) returns for her second NCAA Championships meet with berths as the 51st seed in the 50 free and the 62nd seed in the 100 free. Wong -- who qualified for the meet as a member of all three of NU's relays -- swam individually in the 50, 100 and 200 free races last season.
Senior Katie Braun (Edina, Minn./Edina) earned a spot in the NCAA Championships by virtue of her school-record and NCAA `A' cut time of 53.57 in the 100 fly at the Big Ten Championships. She is the 28th seed in the event, and also will compete as the 33rd seed in the 200 fly. Braun swam in the 100 fly and the 400 free relay at last year's NCAA meet.
Freshman Teisha Lightbourne (Nassau, Bahamas/Peddie School (N.J.)) will compete in two individual events and with two relays in her first-career NCAA Championships. She is a member of NU's 200 free and 400 free relays, while also earning the 51st seed in the 50 free and the 85th seed in the 100 free.
A pair of backstrokers round out Northwestern's NCAA Championships contingent. Freshman Liza Engstrom (Reno, Nev./Robert McQueen) broke the school record with a 54.81 in the 100 back at the Big Ten Championships, and is the 31st seed in the event at the NCAA meet. She also is the 36th seed in the 200 back after earning her ticket to the meet as a member of the NU 200 free relay.
Sophomore Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines) is making her first-career trip to the NCAA Championships as the Northwestern school-record holder in the 200 back. Her time of 1:57.05 at the Big Ten Championships gave her an automatic qualifying time, the NU record in the event and the 23rd seed in the race at the NCAA meet.
Northwestern's divers will compete at the NCAA Zone Diving competition March 14-16 in Columbus, Ohio, for the right to go to the NCAA Championships, giving the Wildcats the opportunity to expand their contingent of qualified 'Cats even further.
Access the official psych sheet from SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.