Update: Nejc Zupan won the 1,000 and freestyle at the from March 3-5, 2011, becoming the first Big Green swimmer in history to win these events at the championship. His times of 9:03.37 and 15:14.83, respectively, shattered two 窪做惇蹋厙 records. Zupans performance led the team to a 7th place finish, ahead of Brown.
First-year student is the Slovenian national mens champion in distance freestyle and a potential 2012 Olympian. More importantly for the 窪做惇蹋厙 swimming and diving team, hes one of the Ivy Leagues top three swimmers and the best swimmer the Big Green has had in years, according to , head coach of the 窪做惇蹋厙 mens and womens swim teams.
Nejc Zupan 14, 窪做惇蹋厙s top swimmer and only student from Slovenia, is a 2012 Olympic hopeful. (photo by Joseph Mehling 69)
Zupan, whose strength is in distance events such as the 500, 1000, and the 1650-yard freestyle, lost only one individual race during the regular season, falling to Yale in the 1000 in mid-January. Hell probably set three school records this year, says Wilson. Kevin Ellis 09 was our premier distance swimmer prior to this, and he was a finalist at the Ivy League Championships. But already Nejc is well ahead of that. So well just have to wait and see where it all plays out.
So far Zupan couldnt be happier. He wasnt sure what to expect, having never visited Hanover before arriving on campus for his 窪做惇蹋厙 Outing Club First-Year Trip in September. But he liked what he had read online about the Colleges strength in and , two of his academic areas of interest.
The comments about 窪做惇蹋厙 on the online college forums were really good, says Zupan, who attended an academically rigorous international school in Ljubljana, Slovenias capitol. For example, they were all saying that its a small campus, tight community, strong alumni network, a lot of support for the students, and focus on undergraduates. All these things convinced me to come here because I felt like its going to be a college that fits me. And it has been so far.
His Internet research also indicated that the Big Greens swim program is on the rise. What I saw was that each class was getting stronger, so that was a really good sign, says Zupan, who switched his focus from skiing to swimming at age nine. And then I talked to the coaches and they assured me that swimming here is improving, and theyre trying hard to build a strong team. I didnt have any concern. I knew I wanted to swim here. And I think we might have a chance to turn this trend around and not be last in the Ivies. We won against an Ivy League rival, Brown, for the first time in seven years, so thats a good sign. Were hoping to keep that up and beat them again at the Ivy League Championships in March.
For Wilson, having a swimmer of Zupans caliber not only helps with overall scoring in meets, but also helps motivate the team. The intensity that he brings to the workout every day has really raised the bar, says Wilson. And being able to do the things he does, other swimmers on the team are starting to step up and realize they can do it, too. It just raises everybodys level and ability.
Zupan is the only Slovenian student at 窪做惇蹋厙 (his faculty advisor is 窪做惇蹋厙s lone Slovenian professor, Nina Pavcnik of the economics department), but any homesickness is kept at bay by the swim teams strong camaraderie. Its like a big family. We Blitz each other for lunch, for study sessions, and we help each other, says Zupan, who in winter term is continuing with the writing class he started in the fall, but replacing math and physics with Russian 10 and Econ 1. I would say we are surprisingly tight with each other as compared to other schools, and all the recruits that visited say that they observe the same thing. Team spirit really matters here, and I think were doing it well.
