The college championship season is finally upon us and with the America East Championships getting going this weekend, here’s a look at five women from mid-major schools that could make waves around the NCAA this Spring.
Emily Escobedo, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Photo Courtesy: Reagan Lunn/Georgia Tech Athletics
Escobedo enters the championship season as the dominant swimmer in the America East Conference. Her victories in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke, and 200 IM should go unchallenged at the conference level, but Escobedo is also primed to make waves at NCAAs.
At her conference meet a year ago, Escobedo swam a personal best of 2:06.21 in the 200 breaststroke before finishing third in the event behind Lily King and Miranda Tucker. In fact, Escobedo had the second fastest back half of any NCAA scorer besides King in the 200. While Escobedo may not have the front end speed of some of her competitors, she still managed to finish 15th in the 100 breaststroke at NCAAs last year.
Megan Burns, Buffalo
Burns is a sprinter who poses intriguing NCAA scoring potential. With personal bests of 22.11 and 48.55 in the 50 and 100 freestyles, Burns personal best in the 50 would have tied her for 13th in prelims last year with Florida’s Natalie Hinds.
It took 22.04 to make the NCAA A-Final last season, meaning Burns should look to produce a sub-22 second effort if she wants to ensure a top eight spot this season. Burns could also push for a scoring position in the 100, where 48.41 was good enough for 16th place in prelims. An added bonus for many mid-major swimmers is that they do not have to contend with relay duty in addition to individual swims.
Naomi Ruele, Florida International
Photo Courtesy: Sam Lewis
Ruele won the 50 freestyle Conference USA title by half a second last season by posting a quick 22.23. Ruele is an international swimmer for Botswana, having competed for them at this year’s World Short Course Championships in Windsor, Ontario.
Ruele added time at NCAAs to finish 41st in preliminaries, but the sophomore has looked strong this season after posting a 22.28 at the Louisville Invitational. Her personal best in the 50 puts her just outside of the 22.14 it took to make top 16 at NCAAs a year ago. With marginal improvements to her personal best, Ruele could find herself in NCAA scoring range this season.
Brittany Aoyama, Bosie State
One of the strongest swimmers in the Moutain West Conference, Aoyama looks well positioned to score in the 100 butterfly at NCAAs this season. Her personal best would have placed her twelfth in prelims at NCAAs. Aoyama currently sits 15th in the NCAA in the 100 butterfly with her 52.04 from the Art Adamson Invitational.
Aoyama’s confidence should be bolstered by the fact that her personal bests in the 50 and 100 freestyle and the 100 fly all come from her mid-season taper meet. Aoyama has been swimming the 100 butterfly consistently in the 52 low range since her 2014 conference championship meet. In her senior season, this may finally be the year Aoyama pushes past the 52-second barrier.
Bailey Andison, Denver
The Canadian Andison had a strong first NCAA Championship meet in 2016, cracking out a 1:56.51 in the 200 IM to secure 14th place. Andison is another swimmer that could be on the rise after producing a personal best of 1:55.82 at the Texas Invitational in December. Unlike the other swimmers on this list, Andison has shown the ability to score at NCAAs. Her best time places her eighth in the NCAA. An NCAA A-Final appearance is certainly a possible in the 200 IM, and she posses a 400 IM that could also score this season.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
You guys forget Air Force senior Genevieve Miller who placed at NCAAs in both the 500 and the 1650 last year!
Bailey! ??
Courtney Laird look at number 5!!