by Enrique Gutiérrez
Staff Writer
This has been a week of anxiety and nervousness for five members and coach of the University of La Verne women’s swimming team, as they wait to find out whether or not they are going to Nationals next month or not.
Freshmen Katie Aimone, Allison Alastuey, Summer Hammons, Tandis Morgan and Tiffany Yates had until yesterday afternoon the possibility of qualifying for Nationals in seven different events.
All of them said they accomplished more than they ever expected at the beginning of the season.
“I wasn’t even thinking about Nationals; I just wanted to swim to stay in shape, but as the season went on, I got more into the swimming thing,” Morgan said.
“I was unsure because it was a first-year team and my first year in college, so I didn’t really have any expectations,” said Hammons, who is part of the 200m freestyle relay that established a new Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) record at the Conference Championships, stopping the clock at 1:38.99.
The old record had been set by Pomona-Pitzer in 1992 at 1:39.70
The Conference Championships were held last weekend at Cerritos College, and the Leopards left a great impression on the other SCIAC clubs.
“The swimmers swam incredibly. Every single swimmer bettered their time,” said head coach John Hallman.
“The other teams in our conference were not only surprised, they were shocked of how well we were swimming.”
Hallman also said that the team maintained its focus on the races and on their support for one another.
The events that might have earned the Leopards one or more of the 22 spots for the Nationals are the 200m and 400m freestyle relays and other individual events.
Aimone could qualify in the 100m backstroke and 100m freestyle, while Alastuey would compete in the 200m and 100m backstroke; and Morgan has a chance in the 100m backstroke as well as the 50m freestyle.
“I didn’t think we’d do as well as we did. I was really impressed by how we turned out overall and in conference,” said Aimone.
The Nationals will be held at Miami University (Ohio) March 11-13.
“Just making it there is a big accomplishment for being a team of all freshman,” Hammons said.
“When we get there, we’ll be happy, and when we leave, no matter how we did, we’ll still be excited and happy,” Yates said.
As far as the men’s team is concerned, Ryan MacDonald, freshman, won the 100m breaststroke, and he could have won the 200m as well were it not for a coach’s mistake, which was not entering him in the event.
“Ryan barely missed Nationals by like tenths [of seconds] in the 100m breaststroke,” Yates said.
“There are five men on the team right now that are now in a position to qualify for Nationals next year,” Hallman said.
Hallman has big plans for next year for both the men’s and women’s teams.
“Next year, the women’s team is going to be extremely well balanced, and we’ll be able to make a run for the conference championship next year,” he said. “The men are of good character and pretty good talent. We should be a solid second.”
Meanwhile, Hammons’ plans are ambitious for next year as well.
“I expect us to [qualify for] a lot more events for the Nationals, a lot more relays,” she said.
“Our guys’ team is really strong, but we just have no depth. They could use a few more here and there,” Yates said.
