The University of Wisconsin women’s swimming team is psyched and ready to compete at the NCAA championships this weekend in West Lafayette, Ind. This will be the 24th consecutive appearance for the No. 8 Badgers.
“Our goal is and always will be to be the best Big Ten school at the NCAA championships,” head coach Eric Hansen said. “Assuming we swim up to our capabilities, this could be a very special meet.”
This year, 10 individuals will represent the Badgers, including five returning All-Americans, the most in school history. Returning All-Americans Anna Trinidad, Carly Piper, Amalia Sarnecki, Sarah Hernandez and Susan Johnson will all add much-needed depth for the Badgers.
This will be the first NCAA championship meet for freshmen Jenny Gelden, Hannah McClurg and Jackie Vavrek and sophomores Liz Klanderman and Andrea Wiesner.
This weekend’s championships will mark the final college meet for senior Carly Piper. In her four-year campaign at the University of Wisconsin, Piper has earned eight All- American honors and three All-American Honorable Mention honors at the championships. This year entering the championships, Piper holds the No. 17 spot in the 200-yard freestyle, the No. 5 spot in the mile and the No. 7 spot in the 500-yard freestyle. She also holds the pool record in all three events following her performance at the 2003 Big Ten championships.
“I’m really excited for this weekend,” Piper said. “We have looked really good this week and we are all pretty excited to go out and compete and improve on last year.”
Following the championships, Piper is hoping to turn pro before the USA World Championship Team Trials in April. However, before she ends her amateur career, she still has a few goals she would like to accomplish.
“Breaking 16 minutes in the mile is my ultimate goal and to place top 8 in all of my events. I’ve been close in the past, but I’ve always managed to fall shy each year in one event.”
Piper will face competition from Olympic teammates Kalyn Keller of USC, Margaret Hoelzer of Auburn and Kara Lynn Joyce of Georgia. Piper will compete against Keller in the 500-yard freestyle and in the mile and will battle Joyce and Hoelzer in the 200-yard freestyle.
Along with Piper, Trinidad, Johnson and Sarnecki all have top-16 times in various events. Johnson is ranked in the top 16 in all three of her events. She is ranked No. 12 in the 100-yard butterfly, No. 5 in the 100-yard backstroke and No. 7 in the 200-yard backstroke. Trinidad is ranked No. 14 in the 200-yard individual medley, while Sarnecki is ranked No. 15 in the 100-yard breaststroke and No. 7 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
All of Wisconsin’s relays are also ranked in the top 16. The Badgers are ranked No. 6 in the 200-yard freestyle relay, No. 8 in the 400-yard medley relay, No. 12 in the 200-yard medley relay, No. 9 in the 800-yard freestyle relay and No. 10 in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Georgia is the favorite to win the championships this year, entering the championships as the No. 1 squad in the nation. Last year, Georgia finished second to three-time consecutive NCAA champion Auburn. Georgia has the most athletes entered in the championships at 18, followed by No. 2 Auburn and No. 3 Florida, both with 17.
Last year, the Badgers placed 10th with 135 points, the highest finish in school history. The women took home eight All-America honors and were led by Carly Piper, who placed sixth in the 400-meter freestyle, seventh in the 200-meter freestyle and 11th in the 1500-meter freestyle.
This year the Badgers are looking for a top-eight finish. Coach Hansen believes if they are on this weekend, anything is possible.
