FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Years of close calls were vanquished this past March. After four runner-up finishes in six years, the Northern Arizona swimming & diving team was finally able to hoist the Western Athletic Conference trophy.
However, although the elusive championship is now in their possession, the Lumberjacks are not satisfied as they begin the 2014-15 season hungry to keep the WAC title here in Flagstaff. Defending the title won't be easy as head coach Andy Johns will need to replace his decorated senior class of nine graduates, but the Lumberjacks are up to the task.
"We return good experience and our freshmen are solid," Johns said. "We have a slightly different look though. We're going to get points from different events, but all in all I feel good about who we are. I know we're going to have some challenges along the way, but I feel good about being in a position that if we do what we're capable of doing, we'll be right there at the end again."
The senior class – and backbone of the program over their four-year careers – may be gone but Johns and the Lumberjacks return talent both in the pool and on the diving boards. Juniors Kendall Brown, the two-time defending WAC champion in the 1,650 freestyle, and Chelsea Jackson, a three-time diving bronze medalist at last year's conference championships, are back for more as are seniors Alexis Juergens and Caitlin Wright among the 17 returning letterwinners. Now that this group knows the taste of a championship, this year's squad should not be counted out despite what it lost.
"The team is motivated," Johns said. "They know everyone needs to be a little better because every team in the league is getting better. Our returners have a focus and resolve to show our newcomers what it takes to win."
Freestyle
When talking about NAU's freestyle group, it is understandable to start with the team's distance core. After all, Brown has won the last two championships in the mile and last season, the Lumberjacks swept the podium with Emma Lowther and Wright finishing second and third respectively. Entering her final season, Wright has three bronze medals in the 1,650 free to her name along with a pair of fourth-place finishes in the 500.
Yet, this year the Lumberjacks have a deep and diverse group of freestylers that Johns anticipates will make noise in all distances.
"Our sprint group has gotten stronger with the addition of Samm (Crocker) and Alina (Staffeldt)," Johns said. "If Alexis (Juergens) and Alex (Huff) do what they did last year, we're going to be good. Caitlin and Kendall take over in the distance swimming, but Claire Hammond and Kimmy Richter will also help. I don't think we dropped off on the distance side, but we're better in the shorter freestyles. It never hurts to have a lot of freestylers."
At the conference meet last season, redshirt junior Alex Huff won the B final and finished ninth overall in the 50 free and was complemented by Juergens, who improved seven spots jumping from 20th to 13th in a year. The additions of Alina Staffeldt, who won the 100 free at the team's Pentathlon in September, and Samm Crocker will bolster the team's sprint crew while junior Trinity Frazee and sophomore Jori Lindquist provides depth at the 100 and 200 distances.
Junior Cassie Ronai and freshman Roni Houck, the 100 free winner in the team's Blue vs. Gold meet, will also contribute in the short-to-mid distances and junior Eva Pold is another name to count on in the 500 as part of NAU's deep crop of freestyle swimmers.
Backstroke
Huff and sophomore Sara Lenhoff were pivotal in the Lumberjacks' WAC title last season as they both competed in the 100 and 200 backstroke A finals. Lenhoff had a sensational first conference meet, picking up a bronze medal in the 100 back and a fourth-place finish in the 200 back, posting the second fastest times in school history in both events. Huff, the owner of the third-fastest time in the 100, meanwhile placed fifth in the 100 back and seventh in the 200 back.
"Sara and Alex both had two top-eight finishes last year and we're looking for Jori Lindquist to be better," Johns said. "Dual-meet wise we have some versatility with Trinity Frazee, Claire Hammond and Kendall Brown all being able to swim backstroke. We're looking for our relay spots because (the backstroker) is key to starting our medley relays and it's nice to have experience here."
Lindquist placed 10th and 11th in the 100 and 200 respectively last season and Frazee swam in the C final in both events at the WAC Championships. Juniors Brooke Brittain and Lindsay Clark-Warren also both qualified for the top-24 and swam in the C finals, so the Lumberjacks are not short of talent or experience in the backstroke events.
Freshman Allison Mann and Hammond are the team's newcomers to the backstroke group.
Breaststroke
The Lumberjacks take a big blow in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes with the loss of Jordan Burnes, the school record holder in both events and defending WAC champion in the 200, and Stirling Smith to graduation. Still, the team's breaststroke unit embodies the entire team as it remains strong despite its losses.
With the WAC Championship still in the balance last season, the Lumberjacks swung the momentum completely in their favor in the 200 breaststroke in which they claimed the top-three spots, four of the top-five and half of the top-10 in all. Although Burnes (first) and Smith (third) are gone, sophomore Urte Kazakeviciute (second), Caitlin Baker (fifth) and junior Monica Pruett (10th) return to lead a potent breaststroke core.
"The loss of Stirling and Jordan is big but (Kazakeviciute, Baker and Pruett) are solid with good experience," Johns said. "Melanie Harris is a good addition to this group and Roni Houck might see some time in the breaststrokes. We might miss out a little at the top end, but we have quality depth."
Kazakeviciute and Baker also finished fifth and 14th respectively in the 100 breaststroke and after just one season, Kazakeviciute already has the school's second-fastest time in the 200 and the third-fastest time in the 100. Ronai also has championship experience in the breaststrokes as a returner.
Three freshmen – Harris, Houck and Audrey Mann – add to the Lumberjacks' breaststroke crew.
Butterfly
Like the breaststrokers, the team's butterfliers will need to cope with the loss of a pair of top seniors in Rachel Palmer and Andrea Derflinger, but also pose the ability to not skip a beat in large part to the presence of Juergens. She picked up her first two individual All-WAC honors last season by finishing sixth in the 100 fly and seventh in the 200 fly and has already started her final season on a high note, breaking the Pentathlon record in the 100.
Staffeldt will be a quality addition in the butterfly events and like Juergens, also broke the 100 fly Pentathlon record in her runner-up finish in the event.
"Alexis is the leader of this group and Alina brings quality depth, providing us with a nice one-two punch in the 100," Johns said. "In the 200, Kendall Brown can be a good 200 flier especially in dual meets, as can Kimmy Richter. We're not sure what we'll do with them at the end of the year, but Eva Pold can swim some butterfly. We have a pretty solid group of fliers."
Pold finished 14th in the 200 fly at the WAC Championships and has two top-15 finishes in her first two conference meets in the event.
Individual Medley
If the Lumberjacks are a little thin at one spot – at least at the beginning of the season – it is the individual medleys particularly at the 200 distance. Last season's top-three finishers – Burnes, Palmer and Smith – are all gone, so NAU will search for a leader at this spot as the season progresses. Pruett and Lenhoff are the top returning finishers in the 200 IM last season at 19th and 22nd respectively.
"This is probably the area where we'll miss our seniors the most, especially in the 200 IM," Johns said. "We feel good about our 400 group with Kendall, Monica, Caitlin (Baker) and Melanie. We might take a few hits at the 200 distance, like we did in the 50 free last year, but we plan on scoring points in different events with different people."
Harris may prove to be critical in the 200 IM in her first season, coming in as her high school's record holder in the event. Allison Mann also finished eighth in the 200 IM at the Arizona state championships as a senior.
Whereas NAU may have questions around the 200 IM, the Lumberjacks have a solid group of 400 IMers led by Brown, the school record holder in the event. Brown finished second in the 400 IM last season, one year after a third-place finish as a freshman. The Lumberjacks also received strong performances by Pruett, who finished seventh, and Baker, who finished 10th, at the WAC Championships last season.
Pold advanced to the C final, finishing 18th and has two top-20 showings in the event in her career. Audrey Mann is also an IMer as NAU tries to reload in the medleys.
Diving
On the boards, diving coach Nikki Huffman returns three of her five divers from a year ago, a group that starts with Jackson. Jackson was a three-time All-WAC first team diver, placing third on each board and now has five All-WAC honors in her first two seasons. She begins her junior season having taken important strides in the summer, qualifying for her first USA Diving Senior National Championships on the 3-meter springboard.
In addition to Jackson, junior Carlye Townsend and sophomore Alexa Geiger are back having combined for five top-eight finishes between the two of them last year. Having lost Gwen Smithberg, the defending WAC champion on platform, before the conference meet, the duo was instrumental in filling the void. Geiger placed in the top-eight on all three boards in her first championship meet while Townsend earned her first two all-conference nods.
Rounding out the diving unit this season are freshmen Alyssa Loeffelman and Emma Simmonds, both of whom had impressive prep careers in California.
"Chelsea is getting stronger and she's going to continue to do so," Huffman said. "She's motivated and dedicated to taking on every challenge and performing to her best every time she's out there. Lex and Carlye are showing more signs of leadership and our newcomers – Emma and Alyssa – have been training well in our program so far. We're a strong, well-balanced unit with a lot of experience on the conference side."
Jackson and Geiger both qualified for the NCAA Zone E Meet last season with Jackson advancing to the finals to finish 15th on 3-meter.
