Eight Tufts swimmers and divers will head to the University of Tennessee for the NCAA Division III Championships on March 23.
Seven of the national qualifiers are from the men's team, and six were at the national meet last year: seniors Zed Debbaut, Michael Del Moro, David Meyer and tri-captain Gordy Jenkins and juniors Owen Rood and E.J. Testa. This is the third trip to NCAAs for Jenkins, Rood and Testa.
Freshman diver Johann Schmidt, who won the 1-meter and 3-meter diving competitions at the NESCAC Championships, will make his first appearance at Nationals. Schmidt won 14 of the 16 diving events he entered this season, placing second twice against Div. I BC.
Meanwhile, senior tri-captain Megan Kono will represent the women's squad for a third time. She made her first two trips to Nationals her freshman and sophomore years.
The men's and women's teams each finished third last month at the NESCAC Championships.
For a men's squad that was fueled all season by team spirit and camaraderie, preparing for Nationals has been a strange experience.
"It feels very different," Jenkins said. "With such a big team like we had during the regular season, it's kind of odd having so few people around. But it's a lot of fun. It's a little more relaxed, but we're still focused."
Kono qualified for NCAAs with a third-place 1,650-yard freestyle performance at the conference meet, which ranks her 13th in the country. In addition to swimming the 1,650-yard freestyle, she will compete in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles. She enters with the 22nd seed in the 500 free.
"I think she'll do really well. She's the hardest worker on our team," said sophomore Christine Garvey, who has been training with Kono every day in preparation for the national meet. "She's a huge inspiration and role model. I think all the hard work will pay off."
Kono has twice come close to All-American honors, which are awarded to the top 16 finishers in each event. As a freshman, she finished 19th in the 1,650 free, and as a sophomore she came in 17th. Her time at this year's conference meet was eight seconds faster than her 17th-place time in 2009.
On the men's side, the Jumbos will compete in nine events during the four-day meet. Debbaut, Del Moro, Rood and Testa will swim the 200- and 400-yard medley relays, where they rank 10th and 18th in the nation, respectively, while Jenkins, Meyer, Rood and Testa will take on the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays. Their 200 free relay time entering the meet is 10th nationally.
In individual events, Rood will race in the 50-yard freestyle, and Del Moro, who is also a news editor at the Daily, will swim the 100-yard backstroke. Rood's 50 free time was the fifth-best in the conference, and Del Moro's 100 backstroke time was fourth in the NESCAC.
The men tied for 18th place at last year's National Championships in Minneapolis. At that meet, Del Moro, Debbaut and Rood were on the eighth-place 200-yard medley relay and 14th-place 400 medley relay teams; Rood, Jenkins and Testa earned 11th place in the 200-yard freestyle relay; and Rood finished ninth in the 50-yard freestyle.
Jenkins is looking forward to his final NCAA experience.
"It's a blast," he said. "Tons of people, all the best swimmers in the country will be there. It really brings out the best in you."
