Rising junior Vera Koprivova and Rutgers swimming and diving head coach Petra Martin will both represent the Scarlet Knights at the 2017 World University Games Aug. 20-27 in Taipei, Taiwan. Koprivova competes in the pool for the Czech Republic National team, while Martin will serve as a coach on the Czech National Team.
“We are all extremely proud and excited to have Vera represent Rutgers at the World University Games in Taipei in August,” Martin said. “This is a testament of the growth of our program and our competitiveness on the world stage. We have several student-athletes with their eyes on Tokyo 2020 and this is the first step to getting there. I am also very humbled to be named to the Czech National team coaching staff for the World University Games and I’m looking forward to helping the national team succeed as a whole.”
Koprivova, a Prerov, JC, Czech Republic, native, will swim in the 50, 100, 200 backstroke events and will compete in the 400 medley relay and 800 freestyle relays. Koprivova qualified based on her performances this spring in Long Island, New York and in Pardubice, Czech Republic. A full schedule for the games can be found here.
With Koprivova’s and Martin’s representation at WUG’s, the program continues to rise on the Big Ten, national and international levels. The last Scarlet Knight to represent Rutgers in international competition was Kelly Harrigan in 2007, who won a gold medal at the World University Games in the 200 backstroke while representing the United States.
Koprivova earned her place within RU’s record book when she touched the wall with a time of 1:53.74 in the 200 backstroke at the 2017 NCAA Championships. Koprivova also contributed to two relay school records at the 2017 Big Ten Championships in both the 400 freestyle and 400 medley relays.
One of five NCAA qualifiers for Rutgers this past season, Koprivova was named Big Ten Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 23 after she collected five NCAA B cuts, three first-place finishes and a pool record in the 400 medley relay during the Frank Elm Invitational at the RU Aquatics Center.
Martin enters her third year as head coach of the Scarlet Knights. RU finished the 2016-17 season with five NCAA qualifiers, the most for the program in the past 10 seasons. The Scarlet Knights earned its best result at the Big Ten Championships since it joined the conference, while recent graduate Alyssa Black collected Honorable Mention All-America accolades for the second consecutive year.
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Press Release courtesy of Rutgers Athletics.
Shayna Longacre and Catherine Whetstone represented Rutgers and the United States at the Japan International Grand Prix in 2007: http://www.scarletknights.com/news/2007/8/26/Longacre_and_Whetstone_Conclude_Competition_at_Japan.aspx?path=wswim