Tech swimmers take part in Olympic trials
The Virginia Tech swimming program has athletes of all levels trying out for the squad. Jessica Botzum, Scott Beard, and Pete Cancila recently finished their careers with Tech.
Three more athletes, rising senior Megan Newell, rising sophomore Sarah Losinger, and rising senior Sara Smith, who will all be returning to Blacksburg, are also attempting to make the Olympic team.
The Hokies have one more swimmer trying out for the Olympic team: incoming freshman Jace Howanitz, who will attend Virginia Tech this fall.
Jessica Botzum is a three-time ACC swimmer of the year and is trying out for the Olympic team in two events, the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.
On Sunday, Botzum advanced to the semifinals in the 100-meter breaststroke after posting a time of 1:09.07. Her time would be substantial enough to land her the eighth spot in the semifinal heat. On Monday, Botzum would tie for seventh in the semifinal heat which sent her into a swim-off in which she lost by .02 seconds.
"We're going against the best in the world. It's amazing to be able to say that," Botzum commented in an interview after the race. "There were four Olympians that came from my preliminary heat."
Botzum will take to the pool again on Thursday when she tries for the 200-meter breaststroke, an event that she feels is her strongest. Rising sophomore Sarah Losinger will also be competing with Botzum on Thursday.
Head swimming coach Ned Skinner is in Omaha with the athletes. "We feel good right now, we are starting to get on a roll" Skinner would say about the overall feel of the team, "It's a great environment, there are about 12,000 fans here watching the trials."
Beard also raced this past weekend, but failed to qualify after posting a 57.08s time in the men's 100-meter backstroke. He would place 41st with his time. Former Hokie Pete Cancila will be swimming the 50-meter freestyle this Friday.
Rising senior Megan Newell also swam this past weekend. Newell currently holds school records for the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly. On Sunday she swam 1:02.54 in the 100-meter butterfly, a second slower than she had previously posted. Her time would give her a 110th place finish, which would not qualify her for the next round. Newell is not swimming in any more events in the Olympic trials.
Smith will be competing in the 50-meter and 100-meter freestyle events, both of which she is ranked in the world's top-100. In this past years ACC Championships, Smith took both of the events that she will be trying out for. She will swim the 100-meter freestyle on Thursday, and the 50-meter freestyle on Saturday.
With minds set for now on simply making it to the Olympics, swimmers realize the magnitude of the trials ahead of them. "Being an Olympian would be the ultimate experience," Botzum said. "It would be unreal to represent our country."
