AUSTIN, Texas (March 23, 2019) – What's in a fingernail? DNA. Maybe some polish or a little bit of dirt. On Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, a fingernail was all that kept senior
Vera Koprivova from becoming Rutgers' first honorable mention All-American swimmer since 2008.
Koprivova placed 17
th in the 200-yard backstroke preliminaries at Texas' Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center in 1:53.08. With the Top 16 moving onto to Saturday's finals and guaranteed All-America status, Koprivova was just 0.01 seconds behind the 16
th place consolation finals qualifier.
The senior graduates as the programs' record holder in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke events, as well as the team's first and only two-time Big Ten Championships medalist in those two events. She also finished 38
th in the nation in the 100-yard backstroke on Friday.
"It's hard to not feel like it was a failure, because she came so far and came so close to her goal," said head coach
Jon Maccoll. "But from a swimming standpoint, this is the best year this program has had in a decade. We are in the conversation. Hundredths of a second decided so much this season, from our opening relay at Big Tens, getting a fourth swimmer to nationals, then Vera's swim today. Disappointment can be motivating and I honestly think the next year will be better, and the next even better. But it still has that feeling of failure because you can't come up any shorter. It's hard, but we'll use it going forward anyway we can."
Koprivova was one of three Rutgers swimmers in Austin, the most the Scarlet Knights have sent to a national championship meet since 2007. Senior
Rachel Byrne competed in the 1-meter and platform diving events as Rutgers sent a diver to the national championships for a seventh consecutive year.
Senior
Francesca Stoppa called it a career for the Scarlet Knights, and will go down as the most prolific butterflyer in school history. Stoppa placed 55
th in the 100-yard butterfly on Friday and 35
th in the 200 on Saturday. She graduates as the school record holder in both events, and earned Rutgers' first butterfly medal at the Big Ten Championships in February with a third place finish in the 200.
"She built the foundation," Maccoll said. "Rutgers swimming would not be what it is today without
Francesca Stoppa. She's taken on impossible strife and won, and was prepared to take on the world like no one I've ever coached. She won't win any more races for us, but every race we win in the future will carry her legacy with it."
Freshman
Terka Grusova was Rutgers' third rookie at the NCAA Championships in the past four seasons. Grusova placed 34
th in 100-yard backstroke on Friday before finishing 47
th in the 200 on Saturday.
"The biggest thing for Terka is that she was happy with her freshman year, but not at all satisfied," Maccoll said. "She has incredible talent, and is dedicated to continue adapting to college swimming and that rigorous training schedule and qualifying. She's committed to building her body up and will continue to rise."
Senior
Rachel Byrne placed 46
th on 1-meter on Thursday with a six-dive score of 231.50, and 37
th in platform on Saturday with a five-dive score of 205.95. Byrne was competing on the national stage for the third straight year.
While Koprivova will not swim again collegiately for the Scarlet Knights, she is far from done with the sport. The Rutgers Aquatic Center will be her home as the Czech Republic native trains for the World University Games and the World Championships. Her first shot at qualifying will be on Rutgers' trip to the Swim Open Stockholm in Sweden from April 12-15. The Scarlet Knights will bring 10 swimmers to Sweden.
"Vera was the leader of our team and took us through the crazy rollercoaster," Maccoll said. "Despite the uncertainly, she trusted the coaching and the culture that we built. She took control of her happiness and her love of this sport. This isn't the end of her swimming career. She is a special young woman and we'll hear from her again."
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