Sophomore Kurt Swieter dives into the pool during a relay at the NCAA National Championship . The men’s swimming team placed 22nd overall. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
DePauw's swimteams splashed into the records book following record-breaking individual performances at the NCAA National championship. The men’s and women’s teams placed 22nd and 19th, respectively, combining to notch four top-eight finishes.
Junior Angela Newlon pocketed two of those finishes in record-breaking fashion. Newlon came into the meet as the NCAC Swimmer of the Year and was seeded first in both the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyle events. Despite her high-seeding, Newlon finished in fifth place in the 500 and third in the 1650, the best single meet performance by any swimmer in DePauw history.
“It’s just a great feeling. It was one of those moments when you really love your sport and appreciate all the hard work you’ve put into it,” said Newlon, who also placed fourth in the 500 free at the championship last season.
Head Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach Ben Hewitt was also pleased with Newlon's performance, though he knows Newlon may have been disappointed not to secure the first-place victory she wanted.
“Having her get in there and really finish top five in best two events was outstanding," he said. “I know she was disappointed that she could have won a national championship, but at the same time I think she knows she can do it in the future.”
Junior Angela Newlon poses with her trophy after finishing fifth in the 500-yard freestyle on Wednesday. Newlon went on to finish third in the 1650-yard freestyle, the best finish recorded by any DePauw swimmer at a national championship. PHOTO COURTESY OF DEPAUW UNIVERSITY
Not to be outdone, senior Blake Lehmann walked up the podium twice, posting fourth in the 100-yard butterfly and eighth in the 50-yard free. No other men’s swimmer has placed in the top-eight in the same national championship. Lehmann, who is known by teammates for his subdued attitude, was excited to improve on his fifth place finish in the 50-fly last season.
“When I touched the wall it was cool to see that I improved by one place from last year,” Lehmann said.
Head Men’s Swimming Coach Adam Cohen believes that Lehmann’s three top-eight performances are some of the best he has seen in his 28 year tenure at DePauw.
“Any argument about the best swimmer that I’ve ever coached has to involve Blake Lehmann,” said Cohen.
Senior Alex Grissom also finished his career on a high-note, ranking in the top 16 of the 500-yard freestyle for the fourth year in a row, though he was hoping for a better finish.
“I was shooting for top-eight, but I can’t be mad at being All-american again,” Grissom said.
Despite the strong individual performances, the men’s and women’s team dropped 11 spots and four spots, respectively, in overall ranking from last season. Following multiple short-distance relays not qualifying for the national championship, the men’s side attributed its drop in the rankings to not having the right type of personnel for the particular events.
“We didn’t have our depth. It had nothing to do with [the qualifier’s] performance," Cohen said. "We didn’t qualify the right types of swimmers,”
Grissom, a distance swimmer who was forced to swim in sprint relays, echoed his coach.
“Some of the relays I have never even swam in my four years of college and I got put on them my last national meet,” he said.
Hewitt attributed his squad's ranking drop to a few close races that did not end in the Tiger’s favor.
“The difference between 19th and 15th could be… just one event,” said Hewitt, whose team ended the meet with 39 points.
Final results of the meet can be found on the NCAA website.