Emily Weber is a junior swimmer who recently broke her own school record for the 1,650 yard freestyle at the NCAC Championship. She also broke a record for the 1,000 freestyle, finishing at 10:25.95. We were able to catch up with this week's The DePauw Tiger of the Week. Here is what she had to say:
TDP Sports: Let's talk about the NCAC Conference Championship. You broke the 1650 and set a record for the 1,000 free. What did you do to prepare for that outcome?
Emily Weber: I was a little worried going into this year's conference. I felt what happened if I don't get my cuts. I've worked the hardest this year, and I knew it'll be set in place. I tried to have fun with it, knowing everything will be ok. We went in wanting to close the Kenyon[College], Denison [University] gap and make ourselves known. The part that got us showing off was the 800 relay. We broke the school record by six seconds and were ranked sixth in the nation. It proved we can compete against these girls.
TDP Sports: Coming from Cincinnati, what made you decide to come to DePauw?
EW: DePauw was the last school I visited. I didn't visit anywhere until season was over. I wasn't ready to give up on swimming. A girl at DePauw went to my high school, and I loved it. Perfect distance. And I loved the kinesiology program. Looking at the swim program at some of the schools, the programs were developing and here, it was already there. I thought it would be the perfect fit.
TDP Sports: What are your predictions for this year's NCAA Championships?
EW: Were taking the same amount of girls. Last year we were 27th. We're definitely going to go up this year. We're pushing for top 10 800, and Angela is going to place well. Having three of us return and two new, it's made us more hungry to get back there and do better. We're definitely going to move up in rankings.