Big Ten Senior Spotlight: Jennifer Coady of the University of Illinois

One of the best examples of a senior who has really come into her own during the second half of her NCAA career is Jennifer Coady of the University of Illinois. An in-state product who decided to stay close to home while pursuing swimming in the collegiate realm, Coady rose through the Westmont Swim Club farm system until she qualified for NCSA Junior Nationals in 2010. Additionally, Coady provided key support for her high school, Hinsdale Central, with appearances at the IHSA State Championships during her sophomore, junior, and senior years.

As a freshman in college, Jennifer was able to join her older sister, Sarah, for one season as the two primarily raced in the breaststroke and IM events for the Fighting Illini. Jennifer competed in the 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM at her first Big Ten Championships, and recorded finishes of 46th (1:07.89), 46th (2:25.48), and 75th (2:07.10) respectively.

The following season, Coady would improve upon her placings across the board when it came to the Conference Championships. Scrapping the 100 breast for the 200 free, she would take 65th in that event (1:53.63) while also grabbing 58th in the 200 IM (2:07.24), and 39th in the 200 breast (2:21.90). Notably, her times in the 200 free and in the 200 breast were career bests at the time.

Coming off a solid performance at Big Tens as a sophomore, Coady continued to make steady improvements in her third campaign with the Fighting Illini. After recording personal bests in the 200 free (1:52.87) and the 200 breast (2:17.09), she would also carry that momentum through Championship season, with career bests in the 100 breast (1:04.05, 38th) and 200 IM (2:05.76, 61st). She would also take 38th in the 200 breast at Big Tens with a 2:19.24, tying her personal best finish at the Conference Championships. Additionally, her effort in the 100 breast vaulted her up to 7th in Illinois’ all-time list for the event, while her mid-season performance in the 200 breast also leapfrogged her into the top 10 rankings, cementing her swim as the sixth fastest in program history.

Although Coady’s swims as a junior at Big Tens were certainly very impressive in their own right, she has already had a fantastic set of swims this year with her performances at the 2015 Big Challenge contested in Topeka, Kansas. At Kansas University’s Robinson Natatorium, Jennifer ripped off personal bests in the 100 breast (1:02.92), 200 breast (2:15.54), and 200 IM (2:04.83). With those swims, Coady surged to 3rd all-time in the Fighting Illini’s All-time list for the 100 breast while also snagging the 5th spot in the All-time rankings for the 200 breast.

What makes Coady’s last Big Tens with the Orange and Navy Blue so exciting is that there is no telling just how fast she may go given her performances at her mid-season meet. While it is often normal to see athletes put up swift swims before embarking on the second half of the season, it is extremely rare to see someone improve on their personal bests by the same order of magnitude that Coady did. As Jennifer is also within striking distance of the school record in the 100 breast (1:02.11, Ilkay Dikmen, 2004), she may already have the extra motivation she needs to uncork some huge final swims for her team. Look for Coady to lead the senior charge for the Fighting Illini next week both individually and on the relays.

Best Times (SCY/LCM):
100 Breast: 1:02.92/1:13.45
200 Breast: 2:15.54/2:42.37
200 IM: 2:04.83/2:28.48
400 IM: 4:30.45/5:15.58
200 Free: 1:52.87/2:10.84

School Major/Degree:  Accountancy
Favorite Event:  200 Breast
Favorite Hobby: Cooking and baking
Favorite Movie:  Lone Survivor
Person You’d Like to Meet Growing Up:  The Pioneer Woman (she’s on Food Network)
Favorite Food/ Pre-Race Meal: Greek Salad with Chicken

At what age did you become involved with swimming? How did you get into it?

I started swimming when I was about four years old. My older sister, Sarah, had already started swimming on our country club team and our year- round club team, so my parents just threw me in the water for swim lessons. I don’t think I liked it very much at first, but at some point it grew on me and the rest is history!

What is your favorite collegiate swimming memory and why?

This is more of a tradition, but my favorite memory from college swimming is that we sing the Alma Mater as a team after every dual meet, whether or not we won or lost. Coming from a family of Illini, I grew up going to football and basketball games and singing all of the fight songs, so this has always been really special and fun for me. It’s a great thing to do after a meet because it reminds us that we are competing for something bigger than ourselves, which is to represent our school and the Fighting Illini. None of us are great singers either, so it’s funny to listen to us attempt to sound good.

At your midseason meet, the 2015 Big Invite, you went lifetime bests in the 100 breast, 200 breast, and 200 IM, which are also your three primary events. Do you feel like such a successful midseason meet has given you some momentum to work with in the second half of your season?

I definitely think that the Big Challenge Invite gave me a lot of self confidence going into the second half of the season. I knew that I had been working hard and seeing results at practice and dual meets, but it was really fun to see what I could do at a meet with a little bit of rest.

The teams we faced in the second half of the season were Iowa State, Iowa, Nebraska and Arkansas, which are all very good teams. Personally and as a team, I think the confidence we gained at our mid-season taper meet really helped us stay calm and be tough against the teams we faced in the second half of the season.

The Fighting Illini have 9 seniors between the swimmers and divers, and having such a sizeable upperclassmen presence can often be advantageous for teams as there is no lack of leadership. Can you describe what it is like to be a part of such a large senior class, and do you feel like it has helped your team come together this season?

It helps a lot to have such a large senior class. All of our seniors have had different experiences throughout our careers and I think that is so helpful to the underclassmen because they can learn from our experiences. Hopefully we have led the underclassmen in the right direction to make this program better and better each year. As a class, we are all such good friends and we pretty much have been that way ever since we stepped on campus, so we are all really grateful for that.

What/who do you think has been the single most important catalyst to your swimming career?

My club team, Westmont Swim Club, and my club coaches, Adam Cremieux and Scott Erdman, have undoubtedly been the most important catalysts to my swimming career. I don’t really know if I can put into words how much my club team has meant to me throughout the years, but basically it’s just been a second family to me. I made so many amazing memories on the team growing up and I am still really close with all of my club teammates and I know it will always be that way. Adam and Scotty always believed in me and they have been so supportive of my entire career, so I can’t really thank them enough for that. I feel very lucky to have grown up in such a supportive environment and I know that it’s a huge reason for my success.

Do you have any plans/commitments following the completion of your collegiate career?

This summer, I am interning for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Chicago in their Core Assurance practice, so I am really excited for that! In the fall, I’ll be returning to Champaign for a one-year Masters in Accounting Science program and I plan on making it to as many swim meets as I can to cheer on the team!

What should we look forward to from Illinois as a whole at this year’s Big Ten Championships?

I think we are a team that is going to surprise a lot of people this year at Big Tens. I would argue that this has been our best year of training since I’ve been on the team, so I am really excited to see what we can do. I know there are a lot of girls on the team who can score individually and our relays have the talent and ability to be successful also. Overall, we are all excited for the fun atmosphere and environment at Big Tens and to cheer each other on and do our best!