MEDFORD, MA (February 29, 2024) – Thirteen Tufts University swimmers have qualified to compete at the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Championships coming up March 20-23 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Seniors
Jillian Cudney and
Elise Fong, juniors
Emma Claus,
Cierra McCarty and
Lara Wujciak, sophomores
Isa Chambers,
Madeleine Dunn,
Jade Foltenyi,
Maddie Hagberg and
Quinci Wheeler, and first-years
Elena Harrison,
Sydney Stasz and
Selin Tuncay will represent head coach
Adam Hoyt's Jumbos at the national championship meet.
Cudney and Wujciak will both make their third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships. Dunn, Foltenyi, Hagberg and Wheeler will all return to the national meet for the second straight year. It's the first national berth for the others.
The highest seed for the Jumbos entering the NCAA meet is fourth in the 200 medley relay, where Harrison, Wheeler, Foltenyi and Cudney have a 1:41.30 mark. The same group has the #7 time in the 400 medley relay (3:43.87), and the Jumbos are also seventh in the 400 freestyle relay with a 3:24.42 time recorded by Wheeler, Chambers, Stasz and Cudney.
The top individual marks for Tufts nationally are Wujciak ranked sixth in the 200 butterfly (2:02.10), Cudney's #8 seed in the 100 freestyle (50.85), Foltenyi ninth in the 100 butterfly (55.03) and Wheeler 10th in the 100 breaststroke (1:02.58).
Tufts' women have entries in all 18 swimming events at the NCAA meet. The largest groups of qualifiers are three Jumbos in the 100 butterfly (Foltenyi, Wujciak, Harrison), the 100 backstroke (Harrison, Hagberg, Fong) and in the 400 IM (Dunn, Hagberg and McCarty).
The Jumbos will have two swimmers in several events – Dunn and Fong in the 500 free, Wujciak and Foltenyi in the 200 individual medley, Cudney and Harrison in the 50 free, Wheeler and Cudney in the 200 free, Wujciak and Foltenyi in the 200 butterfly and Hagberg and Fong in the 200 backstroke.
Events with individual Jumbos are the 100 breaststroke (Wheeler), the 1650 free (Dunn), the 100 free (Cudney) and the 200 breast (Wheeler).
The Jumbos' qualifying foursome for the 200 free relay was Cudney, Claus, Stasz and Chambers. The 800 free relay qualifying mark was an aggregate (7:30.71) of the four-best 200 free relay times swum by Cudney, Dunn, Tuncay and Wheeler.
Tufts also has junior
Cierra McCarty on the alternate list for the meet in the 400 IM. She was an alternate last year and wound up earning a spot in the meet.
The Jumbos will also look to add divers to their NCAA roster, who will need to qualify at the NCAA Diving Regional this weekend (Mar. 1-2).
See the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming Championships Psych Sheet
HERE.
--JUMBOS--
