Top Quotes From the (Unexpected) Last NCAA Taper Meets – Women’s Midseason

With the Covid-19 global pandemic and mass cancellation of swim meets following it, the swimming community is trying to cope with the great sense of loss we’ve been hit with. More immediately, athletes, coaches, and fans have been stripped of the opportunity to witness and participate in the 2020 NCAA Championships, at the DI, DII, and DIII levels. One way we at SwimSwam are dealing with our pain is taking a look back at what ended up being the last taper meets of the NCAA season.

Athletes/Coaches in order of appearance:

• Beata Nelson, Wisconsin
• Allie Szekeley, Stanford
• Louise Hansson, Southern California
• Bob Bowman, Arizona State
• Emma Nordin, Arizona State
• Kate Moore, NC State
• Felicia Pasadyn, Harvard
• Emily Hetzer, Auburn
• Julie Meynen, Auburn
• Alyssa Marsh, Duke
• Katharine Berkoff, NC State
• Braden Holloway, NC State
• Abbey Weitzeil, California
• Yuri Suguiyama, Wisconsin
• Gideoun Louw, Aurburn

We saw a lot of very fast mid-season invites this winter, and SwimSwam was lucky enough to cover the NC State Invite in Greensboro, the Art Adamson Invite in College Station, and the Minnesota Invite in Minneapolis. We’ve put together a compilation of our favorite quotes form these meets. In my opinion, it’s a combination of 2 major themes. It’s devastating to hear the athletes talk about where they’re at in the season and what they’re expecting coming into NCAA’s, as we now know they won’t be happening.

The 2nd part, however, is hope. You hear numerous coaches and athletes talking about facing adversity, and how they train to make it through the unexpected better than before. Swimming will continue, eventually, and the sport will continue to get better and faster. Obviously, that may not be today. But as swimmers, we know how to put our heads down and make it through tough spots. And we know how to do so together.