Courtesy: Rutgers Athletics
STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Eight Rutgers swimmers and their coaches are heading overseas to Sweden for the 2019 Swim Open Stockholm from Friday, April 12 to Monday, April 15. The select Scarlet Knights team was chosen on academic and athletic merit.
The trip will provide two-fold opportunities for the Rutgers swimmers at the long-course metered event. The Scarlet Knights’ extensive international roster will get the opportunity to swim a little closer to home during the academic year. Meanwhile, all eight student-athletes will be gunning for qualifying times for a number of championships, trials and major events.
“We have a ton of elite international talent, and we have hungry American swimmers that need times in long-course meter format,” said head coach Jon Maccoll. “The vision for this program is that we’re building towards being one of the top programs in the country. At the same time, our goal is developing our swimmers to achieve their dreams beyond the Big Ten and NCAA. We want them to use these opportunities to make their national teams, compete on the world stage, and become Olympians.”
Following their appearances at the 2019 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in March, senior Vera Koprivova and freshman Terka Grusova will lead the Scarlet Knights into Sweden. The backstroke specialists are training for qualifying cuts for the 2019 FINA World Aquatic Championships in South Korea this summer.
Koprivova became Rutgers’ first Big Ten medalist in February, and soon after, first two-time medalist at the 2019 conference championships. She proceeded to finish 17th in the nation in the 200-yard backstroke, a miniscule hundredth of a second away from earning All-America honorable mention in March.
The World University Games is another goal for the Czech Republic natives, and that goal is shared by an additional pair of international stars from Rutgers – junior Francesca Bertotto from Italy and freshman Simone Lusby from New Zealand – who will be making the trip to Stockholm. Bertotto will swim the distance freestyle events, while Lusby will take on the backstroke.
Four United States natives will travel to Sweden attempting qualifying cuts for the U.S. Olympic trials – junior Sarah Davis (freestyle) and freshmen Kasja Dymek (butterfly), Katie Dougherty (breaststroke) and Lizzie Zeller (freestyle & backstroke).
The Scarlet Knights recorded 21 new entries into the program’s all-time Top 10 times and scores list over the course of the 2018-19 season, which also included six dual meet wins, two invitational titles, three Big Ten medals and four NCAA Championships qualifiers.