CMS Sends Largest Pool of Athena Swimmers to Nationals

Nine Athena swimmers will compete at the 2006 NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, March 9-11. Five individual qualifiers and four relay qualifiers, comprising the largest team the Athenas have ever sent to the national championships, will compete in 11 individual events and five relays.
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps athlete Lisal Smith '07 is seeded in the top 10 for both the 200-yard breaststroke and the 400-yard individual medley, in which event she holds the current SCIAC record; she is ranked 13th in the 200-yard individual medley. Sarah Heine '08, who set the SCIAC record in the 100-yard freestyle at the SCIAC Championships in February, holds the fifth seed; she also will compete in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle events. Amy Fuller '07 will swim the 200-yard butterfly, and the 200- and 400-yard individual medleys. Lauren Kristensen '07 will compete in the 100-yard breaststroke, and Jordan Stewart '09 will swim the 200-yard individual medley.
Samantha Kepler '06, Kevyn Klein '08, Linh Luong '06 and Danielle Peebles '09 will compete with the CMS relay teams. The Athenas' 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays are ranked among the top 10 qualifiers in those events; the 200- and 400-yard medley relays also will compete.
Prospects for CMS success are bright, according to the swimmers. "We definitely have potential to end up in the top 10," says Kristensen, set to swim with all three freestyle relays in addition to her 100-yard breaststroke. "We've never been in the top 10 before."
Luong, who will swim with the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays, says, "This meet makes me really proud to be at a Division III college People choose to go to these schools because of the academics rather than athletics, which means we're all swimming because we really want to be. Out incentive is different it's an internal incentive."
Both Kristensen and Luong confess excitement about more than their races: "I'm actually excited because there will be snow," Kristensen says. "Last year we built a snowman. We have such a great time being in a completely different element at this meet."
Adds Luong, "We bring a lot of spunk to nationals."
For real-time race results, visit: http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/swimming/ncaa2006/womens_championship/.