NCAA qualifier Catherine Belyakov has announced her transfer from Duke to Hawaii to use her COVID-19 fifth year of eligibility. Belyakov will be working towards a Master of Science in Finance (MSF).
Belyakov told SwimSwam, “The trajectory of the program under Coach Dan has been amplified by Brian and his staff. Although I primarily trained with Brian and Coleman, I’ve gotten the opportunity to work with all the coaches and I can say that all of them have left a lasting impact on me as a person and a swimmer. I truly feel lucky to have been coached by this group and am so excited to follow along with all that they help this program achieve. I am confident that their plan and approach will lead Duke Swimming to unprecedented success. However, I really wanted a new experience for this chapter of my life, and feel as though I’ve found a really great fit down in Hawaii with the ‘Bows! I’m super excited to get to work in Oahu”
Belyakov spent her undergraduate career at Duke. She finished her freshman year at ACCs, scoring in the 100 breast with a 24th place finish in a 1:02.80. She finished her sophomore season at ACCs as well, making the ‘C’ final of the 200 IM and 200 breast.
She made huge strides during her junior season, making the ACC ‘A’ final in the 200 IM as she finished 8th in a 1:57.84. She also was 14th in the 200 breast and 18th in the 100 breast. She notably swam a 1:56.90 in the 200 IM at a dual meet against UNC in late January. That time earned her an invite to NCAAs as she made the cutline that fell at a 1:56.90.
She went on to finish 29th in the 200 IM, 49th in the 200 breast, and 51st in the 100 breast at 2023 NCAAs. She also swam on Duke’s 400 free relay.
This past season at ACCs, she finished 11th in the 200 IM, 12th in the 100 breast, and 20th in the 100 free. A week later, she swam the 200 IM at the Tennessee Last Chance meet. There she swam a season best of a 1:57.05 in the 200 IM, a time that originally sat just outside of earning an NCAA invite. Belyakov was the first alternate to make NCAAs and earned an invite after Virginia dropped a swimmer to add a diver at 2024 NCAAs.
Belyakov had a huge NCAAs, swimming personal best times in the 200 IM (1:56.53, 24th) and 100 free (48.78, 47th). She also was 45th in the 100 breast and swam on Duke’s 400 free relay.
Belyakov is a big pick-up for Hawaii as Hawaii did not send any swimmers to the 2024 NCAA Championships. The team notably sent one individual swimmer along with the 200 and 400 free relays to 2023 NCAAs. Hawaii is currently searching for a new head coach after Mike Stephens left this offseason to join the Stanford men’s program.
I hope Hawaii knows how lucky they are to have her!
go Bows!