As they prepare for the move to the North Coast Athletic Conference next season, the men's and women's swimming and diving teams are hoping to make a bold statement at the NCAA Div. III Championships later this month.
DePauw will send six swimmers to nationals in Knoxville, Tenn., March 23-26, where the Tigers will look to uphold their tradition of excellence on the national stage.
Coming off of its seventh-consecutive conference title, the No. 19 men's squad will be represented by five swimmers at the meet. Senior Josh Baugh, junior Johnny Montgomery and freshmen Jack Burgeson and Joe Hessburg will compete in the 200-yard freestyle relay after clocking a time of 1:23.36 at the SCAC Championships last month.
"It's always a great, great privilege," Montgomery said. "I think it shows that we're a national program and we're ready to compete in the NCAC, which is one of the toughest conferences in the nation."
They will also be joined by sophomore Matt Kukurugya, who will compete as an individual in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke events. At the SCAC Championships, Kukurugya took home the title in the 100 breaststroke for the second-straight year with a time of 56.51 seconds. He also finished second in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:04.57.
It will be the fourth-straight year Baugh has qualified for the national meet, while Montgomery has advanced each of the past three seasons. The trip to the NCAA's will be the first for Kukurugya, as well as freshmen Burgeson and Hessburg.
"It's a really big honor," Kukurugya said. "Having Josh Baugh and Johnny Montgomery there, kind of walking me through is definitely going to help me get through the meet, calm my nerves a little bit."
Last year, the 200-freestyle relay team of Baugh, Montgomery and graduates Steve Klabak and John Cook finished second at the NCAA Div. III Championships, earning All-American honors while recording the highest national finish in program history.
On the women's squad, junior Catie Baker will be making her annual appearance at nationals, having gone each season since her freshman year. Baker qualified in the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke and also will be swimming in the 200-yard individual medley.
At last year's NCAA tournament, Baker earned All-American honors with a sixth-place showing in the 100 breaststroke, a 10th-place finish in the 200 breaststroke and a 13th-place finish in the 200 IM.
"It's going to be a really tough competition. Div. III swimming has gotten a lot faster," Baker said.
With less than three weeks until they leave for Knoxville, the Tigers will continue to fine-tune their training efforts.
"We've competed against many of these relays and many of these teams in years past, and they're looking strong, but so are we," Montgomery said. "We're really excited about it."
The 2011 Div. III Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships will be held March 23-26 at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center in Knoxville, Tenn.