Rutgers swimming and diving travels to West Lafayette, Indiana, to compete at the 2017 Big Ten Swimming and Diving Championships Wednesday through Saturday.
Racing begins Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET. Preliminary sessions commence at 11 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, with the finals of each day to start at 6:30 p.m. BTN Plus on BTN2Go will stream the first six sessions of the conference championships live. A re-run ofSaturday’s final will air on BTN next week.
2016 B1G Championships Rewind
The Scarlet Knights broke two school records en route to aa 10th-place team finish at last year’s conference championships. Francesca Stoppa produced the highest individual finish for RU at the championships with her fourth-place time of 1:57.74 in the 200 butterfly. The performance was a program record in the event.
Stoppa and Rachel Stoddard also contributed to a school record in the 200 medley relay during the first night of action in 2016, as Rutgers his the wall with a mark of 1:39.57.
In total, five Scarlet Knights represented the program with top-eight finishes at the conference championships. Addison Walkowiak had two podium appearances, as she placed sixth in the 3-meter dive (324.80) and eighth in the platform dive (224.55). In the pool, Vera Koprivova placed fifth in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:55.02.
B1G Accolades
Rutgers earned three Big Ten weekly plaudits this season, including two by Walkowiak. The Ballston Spa, New York, native broke school records in the 1-meter dive (325.35) and 3-meter dive (362.10) during RU’s home dual meet against Richmond on Jan. 28 to earn her second conference recognition of the year. The Big Ten also named her conference diver of the week on Jan. 18 for her first-place dives in both the 1-meter and 3-meter against Penn State and Yale.
Koprivova claimed Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors on Nov. 23after she earned five NCAA B cuts at the Frank Elm Invitational. The Prerov, JC, Czech Republic, native had first-place results in the 100 backstroke (53.99), 200 backstroke (1:55.91) and 400 IM (4:18.26) and contributed to a RU Aquatics Center pool record in the 400 medley relay.
Stoddard and Stoppa represented Rutgers at the Big Ten versus Team USA College Challenge from Nov. 12-13 in Indianapolis, as both collected NCAA B cuts at the All-Star event. Stoppa had B cuts in the 100 butterfly (53.74) and 200 butterfly (1:57.97), while Stoddard secured a NCAA B cut time of 2:14.00 in the 200 breaststroke.
NCAA and Zone Standards
Four Scarlet Knights own a collective eight NCAA B cuts heading into the championship portion of the season. Three of those marks are top-eight times within the Big Ten Conference. Koprivova’s time of 1:54.49 in the 200 backstroke is third in the Big Ten, and Stoppa’s marks of 1:57.72 in the 200 butterfly and 53.99 in the 100 butterfly are seventh and eighth, respectively.
100 Backstroke
Vera Koprivova – 53.99
200 Backstroke
Vera Koprivova – 1:54.49
200 Breaststroke
Rachel Stoddard – 2:13.67
Larissa Neilan – 2:15.16
100 Butterfly
Francesca Stoppa – 53.39
200 Butterfly
Francesca Stoppa – 1:57.72
200 IM
Rachel Stoddard – 2:01.45
400 IM
Vera Koprivova – 4:16.38
Off the boards, Walkowiak, senior Alyssa Black and sophomore Rachel Byrne own Zone qualifying marks in both the 1-meter and 3-meter dives. Walkowiak and Byrne have also produced qualifying standards in the platform event. Amongst the Big Ten, Walkowiak is currently seventh in the 1-meter (225.35) and eighth in the 3-meter (362.10).
1-Meter Dive
Addison Walkowiak – 325.35
Alyssa Black – 314.00
Rachel Byrne – 294.50
3-Meter Dive
Addison Walkowiak – 362.10
Alyssa Black – 352.43
Rachel Byrne – 287.50
Platform Dive
Addison Walkowiak – 241.35
Rachel Byrne – 237.35
News courtesy of Rutgers Athletics.
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