While much of the attention around campus during the holiday season has centered on the football team’s sudden bowl berth, the acquisition of offensive linemen via the transfer portal and the resurgence of men’s basketball after a Covid-19 layoff, the Rutgers swimming and diving team has quietly slipped away for practice in Coronado, Calif.
The training follows a productive December, 2021, which saw the Knights make significant showings at the Big Al Invitational in Princeton.
During the Invitational, Rutgers posted a victory in the 400 free relay with junior Sofia Chichaikina, Sofia Lobova (who was previously named Big Ten Freshman of the Week in November) and Virginia Menicucci, and senior Eleonora Trentin finishing less than one half second behind a school record. Chichaikina, Lobova and Menicucci also had strong finishes (second, third and sixth place, respectively) in sprint events at the Big Al Invitational, as did freshman Tina Celik.
The Scarlet Knights nearly had a sweep in the one-meter dive when junior Savana Trueb claimed first, followed closely by Abigail Knapton’s second place finish in the same event. Freshman Holly Prasanto narrowly missed finishing third, but claimed fourth place in the event. Knapton, a transfer from Nebraska, has been a standout performer for the Scarlet Knights this year. In her first season with Rutgers, she has twice been named as the Big Ten Diver of the Week.
During their winter training stretch, head coach Jon Maccoll and diving coach Natasha Chikina have been preparing the team for their final two opponents in January. After an opening meet against Army this season, the Knights faced off against Big Ten Conference foe Purdue, IUPUI, Harvard and Princeton, and will look to get back into the winning lane against Villanova on Jan. 17 at the Rutgers Aquatic Center, before closing out the regular season schedule at Nebraska on January 28 and 29.
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