Andrew Jovanovic Sprint Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke
Personal Life
Andrew Jovanovic was born to parents Dragomir and Theresa Jovanovic in Chicago, Illinois. He swam for NASA Aquatics and for his high school, Loyola Academy, where Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer attended high school. He was the National Age Group record holder for 11-12 boys in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle. Jovanovic certainly made his mark on IHSA swimming in Illinois, placing 4th in the 50 free (21.04) and 5th in the 100 yard butterfly (51.14) in his debut at the IHSA State Meet. He was one of only two freshmen to place top 12 at the meet. He actually took the top seed in prelims in the 50 free (20.88) and was 3rd in the butterfly (49.89). His sophomore year, he came back at prelims for top seeds in BOTH races, posting 20.68 in the 50 and 49.60 in the fly. This time, he improved in finals, going 20.49 in the 50 and 48.73 in the fly, making him a double champion as only a sophomore. Jovanovic only swam the butterfly individually his junior year, and held the top spot once again after prelims (48.53). He would go on to defend his state title with a time a few tenths slower. Jovanovic added the 100 yard backstroke to his state agenda as a senior, which did him well, as he took the top spot in prelims (48.21) which smashed the 48.77 record set by none other than the recent Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers. He went on to win the back (48.25). He wasn’t able to complete the three-peat in the fly, however, as rising star and current Stanford swimmer Connor Black stole the show in finals with a 46.71 to take down the National Public HS record.
College Swimming
Freshman
Jovanovic stayed local for his collegiate career, choosing to swim for the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston, IL. At his first Big Tens, he was NU’s medley butterflier. Both relays placed 9th. He also swam the fastest leg of their 7th place 800 free relay (1:36.65) and their 400 free relay (44.24), which finished 10th. Individually, he won the 100 fly C final in an NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 47.94, swam a 44.54 in prelims of the 100 free and a 1:48.01 in the 200 IM prelims. While he finished 23rd in both events, qualifying for the C final, he scratched both races. Jovanovic did not qualify for the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Sophomore
At the 2015 Big Ten Champs, Jovanovic’s best individual swim came in the 100 backstroke, where he won the C final with a time of 47.95. He was also seeded to swim in the C final of the 100 fly, but scratched, and tied for 23rd in prelims of the 100 free (44.52). Jovanovic lent his hand to four of five NU relays, leading off as backstroker on both medleys (200 finished 5th while the 400 finished 9th). He also turned in the quickest splits on both the 200 free relay (19.62) and the 400 free relay (43.70). That would be his final meet of the season, as he wasn’t able to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
National/International Swimming
2010 US Summer Nationals
At 15 years old, he swam at the 2010 US National Championships, where he competed in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, and 100 meter backstroke. His times of 59.61 in the 100 back and 24.03 in the 50 free earned him US Open cuts.
2011 US Summer Nationals
Jovanovic swam a similar schedule at the 2011 US National Champs, however this time he took down his 100 back to 57.81, almost two seconds improved from the previous summer. His best 100 fly from 2011 came at the Santa Clara Invitational, where he swam a 56.61.
2012 NCSA Jr Nationals/US Open
Jovanovic swam incredibly well at the 2012 NCSA Junior National Champs meet. His swims in the 100 back (57.33) and 100 fly (55.28) were both under Olympic Trials cuts for London. At the 2012 US Open, Jovanovic placed 44th in the 100 free (51.92), 34th in the 50 free (24.13), 30th in the 100 fly (56.20), and 26th in the 100 back (58.25).
2013 US Open
Jovanovic improved greatly upon his 2012 US Open performance at the same meet in 2013, where he began his program with a new best in the 200 meter backstroke (2:02.99). He was tied in 24th position, but lost the swim-off and the chance to swim in finals. He placed 46th in the 100 fly with a new best of 55.25. In the 100 back, he posted another new best of 56.41, and this time he was in sole possession of 23rd place, guaranteeing him a swim at finals. He finished 24th overall. He rounded out his meet with a 23.64 50 free, yet another new best time, for 56th place.
2013 NCSA Jr Nationals
Jovanovic won the 50y back (22.07) and 100y free (43.92) titles at the 2013 NCSA Junior Nationals, and also placed 2nd in the 100y back (47.47) and 100y fly (47.18), as well as 3rd in the 50y free (20.27) and 200y back (1:44.51).
2014 Speedo Champions Series
Swimming at the 2014 Speedo Champions Series (Central Zone), Jovanovic competed in the 50 and 100 free as well as the 100 fly and 100 back. While he was close to his bests in each event, the only one in which he broke a personal best was the 50 free (23.58).
2014 US Summer Nationals
At US Nationals, sticking to backstroke, Jovanovic’s highest finish came in the 50 back (26.97), where his new personal best placed him 42nd overall. He touched at 57.78 in the 100 back and 2:04.04 in the 200 back to finish 52nd and 39th, respectively.
–Originally developed by Karl Ortegon