The women’s swimming and diving team wraps up its season Feb. 22-25 at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships in Fairfax, Va. After placing second at a tri-meet with Dartmouth College and University of Rhode Island Feb. 4, the team finished at 9-4 on the season (4-2 CAA). Head coach Roy Coates said he was more than pleased with this season and is already looking forward to next.
Huntington News: You had a good run this season. What were some big moments?
Roy Coates: We had [freshman] Anna Schegoleva set the school record in a bunch of events, 200 intermediates medley, 200 backstroke. We had [sophomore] Candice Young qualify for the NCAA zone diving championships, after [the CAA Championships], which gives her a chance to compete for NCAA [National] Championship spot.
HN: Did anyone step up to go above and beyond, or surprise you in the water?
RC: First off, Jill Kearns as our senior captain swimmer. She really lead the way in the swimming pool. She was tremendously talented and very, very consistent, and also very versatile. On the [diving] boards, senior captain Rachel Peterson is just so solid, a really good diver and competes at a really high level every time out. Those two seniors, I think, really led the team and showed the young swimmers how to be excellent all the time. As far as new people, Anna Schegoleva is a very talented swimmer from Cyprus. She is definitely our best freshman swimmer, however our whole freshman class is very talented … Rachel and Jill really led the way because they are talented, are leaders and because they are versatile. It really helped everyone else see how good you can be and how consistent you can be.
HN: Do you have any expectations for the CAA championships?
RC: The athletes are really well-prepared mentally and physically to swim fast and well. I’m really excited to see them swim and preform lifetime bests. That I’m sure of, but doing that I’d like to see us move up in the conference. We were eighth out of nine teams last year, my hope [we will] move up to the sixth spot this year and continue the progress we’re making.
HN: What about next season? Who’s returning? Coming in?
RC: There are three seniors on our team that will be graduating, in the sense they’ve exhausted their eligibility but have another year of school. Returning we will have 21 swimmers and two divers. We have two women with verbal commitments that we are still in the process of finalizing. We have until April to do that. We expect to bring in five or six swimmers and/or divers to compliment what we have.
HN: You’re finishing up your 18th season and preparing for No. 19. What keeps you coming back?
RC: It’s because I really like my team and Northeastern University. I really like my team, they are a good fit [for me] as a coach. My team is dedicated, disciplined and fun. Pretty much everything I’m looking for is what Northeastern is about … I think I’m a good fit for Northeastern as well.
– Complied by Sarah Moomaw, News Staff
