Oct. 28, 2010

By Nicole Mechling, Illinois Sports Information

As the reigning recipient of the University of Illinois Outstanding Team GPA Award, the Fighting Illini swimming and diving team has maintained a tradition of academic excellence. With three former valedictorians, five former members of the National Honor Society (NHS), and numerous state scholars, this year's freshman class is no exception. As their debut season continues, the 10 newcomers are ready to show everyone they can make a splash both in the pool and the classroom.

In the season opener against Nebraska, freshman Cara Chuang led off the 200 medley relay team, which finished first and set a new ARC pool record. After three meets, the Clarksburg, Md., native has captured four individual first-place finishes, one second-place finish, two first-place relay finishes and has already climbed the ranks as the 10th-fastest individual to swim the 100 back in Illinois history.

"I came here knowing that it was going to be a completely different scene than my club team," Chuang said. "Coming in here and setting the stage really makes me feel good about coming to this school and being a part of the team. It was a really good first step into a new career."

In addition to Chuang's early-season contributions, newcomers Courtney Pope, Jessica Holz and former NHS member Emily Wilkinson have also captured multiple top-three finishes in individual events.

Former valedictorian and NHS member Anne Goering has also contributed, posting top-three relay finishes in each of the first three meets, and fellow former NHS member Alyssa Toland has claimed multiple top-five finishes in individual events. Emma Williams captured her first top-five finish at Akron, while former valedictorian and NHS member Marin Thompson and Indian Prairie Scholar Andrea Baumgartner have contributed in relay events this season.

"It's exciting to know that you're giving something to the team and providing some points in the meets," Holz said. "It's really nice to be able to provide depth to the program and a couple of points here and there to help the team win."

Fellow freshman Elizabeth Bell, who helped secure a first-place finish in the 200 free relay at Akron, agreed.

"It's the overall team score that matters," Bell said. "So any way that I can help my team is worthy, whether it's winning a relay or getting any points at all, even if I scrape out a fifth-place finish in an individual event."

Despite early success in the pool, the newcomers have not lost sight of their academic goals.

Chuang has not only made history as an athlete, but the former Maryland Distinguished Scholar has taken on the competitive world of engineering. As a bioengineering major in one of the most highly ranked engineering colleges in the nation, Chuang's life would be busy even without swimming. Although most people would never consider competing as a collegiate athlete while pursuing a degree in a demanding field, Chuang wouldn't have it any other way.

"Both of my parents are engineers," Chuang explained. "They're both electrical engineers, and my sister is a swimmer and engineer at Georgia Tech right now, so I come from a whole family of engineers. In terms of biology, I just really love the subject, and I actually want to go on to medical school later on, but I'm not sure if I want to go through that much schooling. With an engineering degree, if I decide to stop after four years, I can still get a job doing something I enjoy."

But Chuang is not the only swimmer with ambitious academic goals. Bell is also majoring in bioengineering, and as the valedictorian of her graduating class at Anna-Jonesboro, the Anna, Ill., native knows how to manage her time between studying and swimming.

"Since I swam and focused on academics in high school, it gave me the right mindset to be able to balance it in college as well," Bell said. "Obviously, in college, there is an increased intensity in both academics and athletics, but at least I have the base work and the right mindset to handle it."

Holz, a former honor roll student at Lafayette, has also chosen a difficult major. The Ellisville, Mo., native is pursuing a degree in biology and is considering going to medical school after she graduates.

"I've always been a science person," Holz explained. "I'm really interested in the anatomy part of science and I knew I wanted to do something with that. Biology is a really good major if I decide I want to take the pre-med route and I find it really interesting. It's a lot of work, but it's all about managing your time and deciding what's important."

With a long list of intense majors and scholastic accolades, the first-year swimmers carry on the program's tradition of strong academic performances and are already proving that they can be successful as both students and athletes.

"I think it shows a lot about our team," Bell said. "It kind of breaks the athlete myth and demonstrates that you can do well in a sport and also be committed to your studies."

While the newcomers work to erase athlete stereotypes, they strive to manage their time filled with practices, workouts, competitions, traveling, class time and studying. Despite their intense schedules, the freshmen are up for the challenge.

"When we do a set and have to do a lot of fast things in a row, coach Sue (Novitsky) always says, `Take one thing at a time,' so that's the way I see it," Chuang said. "There is nothing that really worries me too much, as long as I take it one day at a time and just look at the things in front of me and make sure that I do them well."