Virtual Cup Wraps For Fall
The CSCAA Virtual Cup has wrapped up for the Fall with forty-four teams and 1,373 athletes taking part. The Fall Virtual Cup was created to provide swimmers with a tangible competitive experience with teams across the country.
According to Pat Rowan, Associate Head Coach at Nebraska, the Cup did just that. “The Virtual Cup provided something for the kids to look forward to each week. Knowing they were competing against other teams gave them a sense of normalcy that has been hard to come by this Fall.”
“We really enjoyed each week.” added Rick Rowland, head coach at Cal Baptist. “It kept our swimmers focused and motivated for training each week. It helped us get race ready and working on the different parts of races.”
At Henderson State, where the conference suspended all competitions through January 1, the Virtual Cup have the Reddies an opportunity to especially help their freshmen and international swimmers adapt to the rigorous racing of college swimming.
“Swimming virtually isn't quite the same as having a team onsite to swim against. But I think we made the best out of a situation that is out of our control” explained HSU Assistant Coach and Freeman Award-Winner Wally Senter. “I was shocked at how fast some of the teams were, but it helped to set the tone that this was not just any old meet.”
The variety of events also offered participants a change of pace. “Our team loved that the 50's of stroke and 100 IM were offered throughout,” explained Senter. “It helped to break the monogamy of swimming longer and more traditional events. It also gave us more insight as to who would be better fits on various relays.”
Jordyn Wentzel of St. Kate’s topped the Division III leaderboard in six different events to lead all divisions. In Division I, Cal Baptist’s Jacob Leahy topped the leaderboard in five different events while Kansas’ Manon Manning led the way in three events. Jan Delkeskamp of Queens University of Charlotte and Nova Southeastern’s Aleksandra Maslova each topped the Division II leaderboard in four events. Whitworth’s Ryan Grady led the men’s Division III leaderboard in three different events.
Among relays - the University of Kansas swept the top time in all five women’s events. Cal Baptist and Queens (NC) each had three relays atop the men’s leaderboard in Divisions II and III respectively. Complete results for each week are available here: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6