Twenty Hopkins Swimmers Qualify For NCAAs :: Championships to be held this weekend in Holland, Michigan

Twenty Hopkins Swimmers Qualify For NCAAs

Championships to be held this weekend in Holland, Michigan

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Head coach George Kennedy and the Hopkins swimming team travels to Holland, Michigan, for the 2005 NCAAs

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March 8, 2005

BALTIMORE, MD - Twenty Johns Hopkins swimmers have qualified for and will compete at the 31st annual NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, held at the Holland Community Aquatic Center in Holland, Michigan. The men's championships run from Thursday, March 17 through Saturday, March 19.

Twelve Hopkins men and eight women qualified for the 2005 championships, a year after the men finished fifth and the women placed sixth. The Johns Hopkins men's team has finished in the top five the last five years, while the women's team has placed in the top 10 for the past seven seasons. The Blue Jay women and men are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in the latest Division III national poll.

Senior Diana Smirnova (Las Cruces, NM/Phillips Exeter) swam six events at last year's championship and is entered in seven this season - the 200 IM, 200 butterfly, 400 IM, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. Smirnova's top individual finish last year was 10th place in the 200 IM.

Four juniors who helped Hopkins to the sixth-place finish in 2004 also return to the championships. Kalei Walker (Fort Lauderdale, FL/Pine Crest) is entered in seven events - the 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 800 freestyle relay, 400 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Walker finished 13th in the 200 free and helped three relay teams finish in the top 10 last year.

Katie Herbst (West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford) will swim the 500 freestyle, 200 free freestyle, 200 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay, while classmate Jessica Chang (Penfield, NY/Penfield) is entered in the 200 IM, 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. Abiona Redwood (Kingston, Jamaica/St. Andrew) will swim the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay and 100 breaststroke. Chang placed sixth in the 100 breast at the 2004 championships, while Redwood helped two relay teams finish ninth and 11th. Herbst placed 14th in the 500 freestyle.

Sophomore Allie Foster (Pennington, NJ/Hopewell Valley Central) also returns to the championships, where she will swim the 200 IM, 200 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay. She finished third in the 200 breast and ninth in the 100 breast last year. Classmate Kelly Robinson (Holden, MA/Worcester Academy) is entered in the 200 free relay, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 200 medley relay.

Erica Pakkala (Lititz, PA/Warwick), the lone Blue Jay freshman at the NCAAs, will swim four events - the 200 medley relay, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 400 medley relay

Leading the men are seniors Jon Kleinman (North Oaks, MN/Mounds View) and J.P. Balfour (Plano, TX/Plano). Kleinman will swim the same three events he participated in last year - the 1650 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 400 IM - while Balfour is entered in the 200 IM, 400 IM and 200 backstroke. Last year Balfour set a school record in the 200 backstroke at the NCAAs, finishing ninth at 1:50.47.

Juniors Sean Kim (Silver Spring, MD/Paint Branch) and Matt Chana (Northbrook, IL/Glenbrook) are each entered in three events. Kim will swim the 200 IM, 200 butterfly and 100 butterfly, while Chana is in the1650 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle. Chana placed ninth in the 1650 free and Kim finished 14th in the 200 fly at last year's championship.

Junior Zane Hamilton (Chatanooga, TN/McCallie) will swim the 200 breaststroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 IM and two relays, and classmate Brian Sneed (Chatanooga, TN/McCallie) is entered in the100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and five relays. Hamilton helped the 200 free and 400 free relays finish 11th and 12th respectively in 2004, while Sneed led the 400 medley relay to a fourth-place finish and the 800 freestyle relay to a sixth-place finish.

Junior Tyler Harris (Lancaster, OH/Lancaster) will swim the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, 50 freestyle and four relays. Last year Harris finished seventh in the 100 breaststroke, eighth in the 200 breast and 10th in the 50 free.

Sophomore Rich Guerard (Chatham, NJ/Morristown-Beard) is entered in the 500 freestyle, 200 freestyle, 200 backstroke and 800 freestyle relay, while classmate Dave Strickland (Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit) will swim the 200 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay. Guerard swam the third leg for the 800 freestyle team that placed sixth at last year's NCAAs.

Three rookies also qualified for this year's NCAAs. Freshman Bradley Test (Dresher, PA/Germantown Academy) is entered in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and four relays; Matt Fedderly (Baltimore, MD/McDonogh) will swim the 200 IM, 400 IM, 200 breaststroke and two relays; and Ryan Kim (Seoul, Korea/Georgetown Prep) will swim the 200 IM, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay.