March 17, 2010
The Big 12 Champion Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team will be represented by 16 competitors at the 2010 NCAA Championships, which will be contested March 18-20 at Purdue University's Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
The well-rounded and deep Aggies will have at least one entry in every race at the meet, including all five relays. Ten of the 16 Aggie competitors will be making return trips to the NCAA Championships, including four seniors who are making their fourth trip to the national meet. The Aggies have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA meet for three straight years, including eighth in 2009.
“This is definitely a group that has been there before,” A&M head swimming coach Steve Bultman said. “They aren't going to be scared or in awe of the situation when they get there. They have trained well and competed well all season and I think they expect to perform at a high level at the NCAA Championships.”
Representing the Aggies in Indiana are seniors Alia Atkinson, Ella Doerge, Melissa Hain, Kristen Heiss, Emily Neal, Julia Wilkinson and Sarah Woods, juniors Melanie Dodds, Lindsey King, Jaele Patrick and Maria Sommer, sophomores Rita Medrano and Janie Potvin, and freshmen Kendra Chernoff, Maureen McLaine and Tess Simpson.
The Aggies have four swimmers seeded in the top 10 of nine races, including three that are ranked No. 2 and within range of winning A&M's first individual national title. Atkinson is seeded second in the 200 breaststoke, Heiss is ranked No. 2 in the 500 freestyle and Wilkinson is seeded second in the 100 freestyle. In the relays, the Aggies are seeded ninth or higher in four races, including No. 5 in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays.
A&M is also strong in diving under the direction of first-year diving coach Jay Lerew. The Aggie pair of Patrick and Potvin swept all three dives at the Big 12 Championships and then qualified easily at last weekend's NCAA Zone D Diving Regional in College Station.
“Having a strong group of divers is a huge benefit at the NCAA meet,” Bultman said. “Some of the other strong swimming teams have no divers at all, and we're fortunate to be taking two divers that are capable of scoring points for us. They stepped up at the Big 12 Championships and performed well at Zones, so I'm sure they'll be ready to compete at NCAAs.”