Next stop: nationals
The University of Indianapolis men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams both finished fourth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships held Feb. 9-12.
UIndy swimmer Alican Alacli practices on Feb. 17 in Ruth Lilly Center. The swimming and diving team is currently preparing for nationals March 9-12 in Texas. Photo by Mikey McGrath.
Five team members qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships to be held March 9-12 in San Antonio, Tex.
Sophomore Maura Donahue was named the GLIAC Swimming and Diving Championship Female Athlete of the Meet after winning three individual events and one relay. Donahue also set a pool and GLIAC Championship record in winning the 200 free.
“Her times were great,” said head coach Gary Kinkead. “The 1000 freestyle times and 200 freestyle time are ranked No. 1 in the country right now going into nationals in three weeks.”
Currently five Greyhound swimmers are guaranteed to compete in nationals, and with the new qualifying system, more could be added to the list of competitors representing UIndy.
“We could have as many as 14 or 15 going. I think it will be probably around 12,” Kinkead said. “We won’t know until Feb. 25 so we still have a little over a week to bite our nails and see where it comes out.”
Freshman Julia Madeira is one of the five team members guaranteed a spot in the national championships.
“We keep working hard and staying motivated,” Madeira said. “We only have a few weeks left. Therefore, trying to get extra rest and take care of our bodies is essential.”
Along with Madeira, sophomores Shiran Abrahamson and Maura Donahue and juniors Meghan Donahue and Vicki Galiamoutsa will compete at NCAA Championships.
Maura Donahue qualified for nationals with a first-place finish in both the 1000 and 200 free and with a second-place finish in the 100 free.
Meghan Donahue qualified with a third place in the 200 backstroke, fourth in the 100 backstroke and 14th in the 50 yard freestyle.
Galiamoutsa finished 11th in the 50 yard freestyle; Madeira finished fifth in the 100 freestyle and Abrahamson finished 15th in the 1000 freestyle.
Additional team members also qualified through relays.
Going into nationals, the Greyhounds expect nothing less than what they have been working toward all season.
“We expect the best. It’s what we train for all year long,” Kinkead said. “We train the people that are going to end their season at conference to have the best meet that they can have.”
Kinkead feels that every team is now the Greyhounds’ biggest competition with the new qualifying standards that have been put into place that raise the level of competition.
