Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Features Several Olympic Hopefuls
4/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
April 17, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Several Wildcats are in the process of attempting to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics with three different countries, including five who will swim at the upcoming USA Swimming Olympic Trials from June 29 through July 6 in Omaha, Neb.
Senior Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga./Brookwood), sophomores Kassia Shishkoff (Raleigh, N.C./St. David's School), Genny Szymanski (Haines, Alaska/Haines) and Rachel Rys (Goleta, Calif./Dos Pueblos), and freshman EllenGrigg (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) will compete for a place on the U.S. Olympic Team in Omaha. The quintet will race in 11 events.
Hupman will vie for a spot on the Olympic Team in her signature events: the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyles. Her best chance to make the team is in the 100-meter freestyle, where her time of 55.27 ranks her 11th in the nation in the event. She is seeded 37th in the 200m free at 2:01.19 and 39th in the 50m free at 26.00. The top two swimmers from each event make the team, but in the 100- and 200-meter freestyles six swimmers are selected, with the additional four qualifiers being used on relays.
Undoubtedly, Hupman's previous international experiences will be an advantage at the meet. Hupman was named to the 2007-2008 U.S. National Team last fall, and she also represented the U.S. at the 2005 and 2007 World University Games. She won four gold medals and one silver medal between the two meets.
The Wildcats' distance duo comprised of Shishkoff and Grigg also will participate at the Trials. Shishkoff qualified for the Trials prior to the start of her college career in the 200-meter IM and added three more events to her repertoire at the 2007 ConocoPhillips Summer National Championships held in Indianapolis, Ind. Her times of 2:03.34 in the 200-meter freestyle, 8:49.14 in the 800-meter freestyle and 4:55.44 in the 400-meter IM all were under the qualifying time standards. Shishkoff will represent the 'Cats in more events than any other swimmer on the team.
Like Shishkoff, Grigg made one qualifying time standard prior to the start of her collegiate career. Her time of 4:16.90 in the 400-meter free at last summer's Speedo Junior National Championships placed her fourth in the event and qualified her for the Olympic Trials. She also achieved a qualifying time in the 200-meter free by swimming a 2:02.47 at an invitational meet held March 23. Grigg's accomplishment in the 200-meter race came only 24 hours after the conclusion of the Wildcats' most successful NCAA Championships meet in nearly a decade, where Grigg set a school record and finished eighth in the 500-yard freestyle.
A handful of other 'Cats have qualified for the meet in one event each. Szymanski swam the 200-meter backstroke at the post-NCAA invitational meet and made the Trials in a time of 2:16.55. Rys and senior Katie Braun (Edina, Minn./Edina), Northwestern's butterfly pair, can swim the 200- and 100-meter butterfly, respectively. Rys' time of 2:15.13 in the 200-meter butterfly is almost two seconds faster than the time needed to make the meet. Braun, who competed at the 2004 Trials, qualified again in the 100-meter butterfly but will not swim at the meet this summer, instead choosing to embark on her post-swimming career.
The United States is not the only country where the 'Cats have international exposure. Sophomore Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario/St. Joseph's) narrowly missed qualifying for the Canadian Olympic Team earlier this month. She placed sixth in the 100-meter free and swam a personal-best effort of 56.53. Unlike the U.S., Canada selected only four athletes from the event for its team.
Freshman Teisha Lightbourne (Nassau, Bahamas/Peddie School, N.J.) will not know until later this summer whether her times in the 50- and 100-meter freestyles are fast enough to make the Bahamian Olympic Team. Unlike the U.S. or Canada, the Bahamas uses time standards created by FINA, the international swimming federation, to determine which swimmers will make its Olympic Team. FINA sets `A' and `B' Olympic qualifying standards for each event, similar to the method used to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The two fastest swimmers with an `A' time or the single fastest swimmer with a `B' time make the Bahamian team. Lightbourne will compete throughout the spring and summer in order to improve her times and, hopefully, her national ranking in the Bahamas.
The opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics begin on Friday, August 8. The swimming events start Saturday, August 9, and end Sunday, August 17. Preliminary swims will take place at night while finals will be swum the next morning.
