Throughout the 2018-19 academic year, the Great Lakes Valley Conference will celebrate its 40th anniversary by recognizing 40 teams that made a significant impact both on campus and at the Conference level. Our next featured team is the 2014 Drury women’s swimming and diving squad.
40 TEAMS | 40 YEARS
WEEK 30: 2014 Drury Women’s Swimming and Diving
SEASON SUMMARY
The 2013-14 Drury women’s swimming and diving program entered the inaugural season of GLVC competition with its eyes set on successfully defended its NCAA Championship, while earning its 13
th overall crown as well. A new addition to the trophy case would be the first-ever GLVC Championship, which was certainly an attainable goal as the Panthers entered the Conference meet ranked No. 1 in the country by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. Boosted by a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 1000 Freestyle and two relay victories, the Panthers jumped out to a 190-132 advantage over Truman State after the first day of action at the GLVC Championships. Sophomore Sarah Pullen captured the first event in the first GLVC championship meet, winning the 1000 Free in a pool-record 10:08.35 to finish more than 10 seconds ahead of junior teammate
Allie Reynolds. Following the second day, Drury extended its lead over Truman State to 476-277, having posted another 1-2-3-4 finish in the 500 Free, led by Pullen. After scoring a GLVC title on the 1-meter board, sophomore diver Rebekah Laupp broke the school record to claim the Conference crown on the 3-meter. Later that evening,
Gretchen Stein claimed the victory in the 400 IM (4:24.18),
Tinsley Andrews took top honors in the 200 Free (1:50.43),
Yakaterina Rudenko won the 100 Back (54.35) and
Agnieszka Ostrowska won the 100 Breast (1:02.42). The DU women also claimed the victory in the 400 Medley Relay (3:43.33). The finale of the GLVC Championships was highlighted by
Ostrowska’s national record-breaking effort in the 200 Breast, which helped Drury to the Conference crown with an impressive victory over second-place Truman State, 1,011-783. The Panthers captured all six races in the last of the four nights of competition, with victories from
Pullen in the 1,650 Free,
Rudenko in the 200 Back,
Wai Ting Yu in the 100 Free, Ostrowska in the 200 Breast,
Hilary Ottaviano in the 200 Fly and the meet finale, the 400 Free Relay, with Yu,
Leah Reed,
Andrews and Rudenko. Ostrowska, named the GLVC Swimmer of the Year, touched the wall in 2:12.70, breaking the old 200 Breast national mark of 2:12.89 set by Ana Gonazalez Pena of Wayne State at the 2011 national meet. At the NCAA Championships in Geneva, Ohio, Drury captured the 200 Medley Relay to close the first evening and sit in second place with 114.5 points, just behind leader Wayne State (120). The Panthers closed out the second night with a new NCAA DII record (3:39.29) in the 400 Medley Relay effort from Rudenko, Ostrowska, Yu and Pullen, which broke the old mark of 3:40.45 set by Wayne State in 2011. A win in the 800 Free Relay at the conclusion of the third day resulted in a 26-point swing for Drury over Wayne State. In Saturday’s finale, Ostrowska won the 200 Breast, breaking the national record (2:12.70) she set a month ago at the GLVC Championships by completing the race in 2:11.45. Her efforts helped lock down the NCAA title for the Panthers as they defeated Wayne State, 486-419.
IMPRESSIVE INDIVIDUALS
Agnieszka Ostrowska
- NCAA Champion – 200 Breaststroke (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 200 Medley Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 400 Medley Relay (2014)
- CSCAA All-America (2014)
- GLVC Swimmer of the Year (2014)
- All-GLVC First Team – 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay (2014)
Tinsley Andrews
- NCAA Champion – 200 Freestyle (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 200 Medley Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 400 Free Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 800 Free Relay (2014)
- CSCAA All-America (2014)
- All-GLVC First Team – 200 Free, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay, 800 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay (2014)
Wai Ting (Janet) Yu
- NCAA Champion – 200 Medley Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 400 Medley Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 400 Freestyle Relay (2014)
- CSCAA All-America (2014)
- All-GLVC First Team – 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Medley Relay, 400 Medley Relay, 200 Free Relay, 400 Free Relay (2014)
Sarah Pullen
- NCAA Champion – 400 Medley Relay (2014)
- NCAA Champion – 800 Freestyle Relay (2014)
- Three-Time CSCAA All-America (2014-15-16)
- GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2014)
- All-GLVC First Team – 500 Free, 1000 Free, 1650 Free, 800 Free Relay (2014)
Rebekah Laupp
- GLVC Diver of the Year (2014-15-16)
- GLVC Champion/All-GLVC First Team – 1-meter, 3-meter (2014-15-16)
Brian Reynolds
- Concluded his 31st year with the Drury women’s swimming and diving program in 2018-19
- Coached Drury to 10 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships
- Four-time NCAA Division II Women’s Coach of the Year
- Guided Drury to GLVC Championships in five of six years (2014-15-17-18-19)
LASTING LEGACY
The 2014 Drury women’s swimming and diving program earned its 10
th NCAA Championship since moving to NCAA Division II in 1994-95. Coupled with the success of the men’s program, which also won its record 10th consecutive NCAA Championship, Drury’s women’s title made it a sweep of NCAA titles for the fifth time in the six years. Since the 2014 season, the Panthers have finished second at the NCAA Championships in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019, while placing fourth in 2016. At the Conference level, Drury has captured the 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 GLVC Championships. The Panthers have boasted the GLVC Swimmer of the Year in each of those years, while Rebekah Laupp won GLVC Diver of the Year in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Drury has also captured four of six GLVC Freshman of the Year honors, which included two Panthers – Bailee Nunn and Erica Dahlgren – splitting the 2017 award. Nunn and Dahlgren would go on to win GLVC Swimmer of Year in 2017 and 2018, respectively, while Nunn would claim NCAA National Swimmer of the Year in 2018 following four national titles.