Jaycee Yegher, a senior at Harvard University who is graduating in May, has announced she will finish her NCAA eligibility at the University of Virginia next year, while working on a master’s degree in public health.
“I’m thrilled to announce that I’m going to finish up my NCAA eligibility next year at the University of Virginia while getting my masters in public health. I’m immensely grateful for my time at Harvard, my coaches, and my teammates for supporting me in this journey. I’m excited to continue doing the sport I love at UVA with such an awesome team and coaching staff. UVA’s breaststroke group is incredibly strong and I’m looking forward to training with these amazing women.”
The Ivy League dropped its 2020-21 season altogether in November. Last year, the League’s announcement to forego post-season play for winter sports was the harbinger of things to come for the rest of the NCAA. Three days after the Ivy League canceled its basketball tournament, the NCAA announced it was canceling all remaining championships for the school year. Yegher was one of three Harvard swimmers to qualify for the 2020 NCAA Division I National Championships.
Charlottesville, Virginia will arguably host the greatest concentration of women breaststrokers with NCAA-qualifying potential in the United States next fall: Alex Walsh (58.19/2:05.87), Alexis Wenger (57.91/2:07.79), Anna Keating (59.04/2:07.26), Kate Douglass (59.53/2:03.9), Ella Nelson (2:05.68), and Yegher. She will join the Cavaliers with incoming freshmen Abby Kapeller, Athena Vanyo, Caroline Pennington, Ella Bathurst, Gretchen Walsh, Kate Morris, and Reilly Tiltmann.
Originally from Darnestown, Maryland, Yegher was a three-time state champion in the 100 breast while at Northwest High School. At Harvard, she was a six-time A-finalist in the 100/200 breaststroke events, winning both in her junior year, going 59.76/2:08.47. She broke the Brown pool record in the 100 breast in prelims (59.39) and took down the pool and Ivy meet records in the 200 breast in finals. She split 27.14/58.70 breaststroke legs on Harvard’s first-place medley relays.
Best times:
- 100y breast – 59.39
- 100m breast – 1:07.98
- 200y breast – 2:08.47
- 200m breast – 2:28.77
Congrats! Super cool
Pretty remarkable. 2:09 and you end up 6th on the team!
Good for her! I wonder if we will see more of this with all the teams and conferences that cancelled seasons? Could make things interesting for coaches who are balancing possibly giving scholarship money to people finishing eligibility vs. high school seniors. When I was in college we brought in someone who had one year of eligibility left and was getting a MBA, he was the missing link we needed.
Probably a dumb question, but are they allowed to give scholarships to grad students?
Far more likely she’d be in for some research grant aid as she pursues a graduate degree.
Big benefit for these athletes with the extra year of eligibility to parlay it into playing graduate school opportunities angle. Great for her.