APER

Cathy Knight

The Mills swimming team has only just begun their season, but already a number of Mills swimmers have qualified for NAIA Nationals. Among them is Cathy Knight, a first-year student from Minnesota who has not swam competitively in recent years, and has had more exposure to the pool as a synchronized swimmer.

This past weekend at the Bay Area Invitational hosted by Mills College, Cathy swam to a new school record in the 200 yard butterfly. Her time of 2:40.59 was also a “B” qualifying time for NAIA Nationals in March. A “B” time is considered a bonus swim, which means if you have qualified for the “A” standard in another event, you are able to swim the bonus event if you only have the “B” time standard for the extra event. She was also a member of the 800 free relay team which broke the oldest school record for a relay. Cathy, along with Rachel Griffith, Samantha Sahnow, and Amelia True swam their way to a 9:21.15, more than two seconds faster than the previous record from 2005. Head Coach Neil Virtue is optimistic about this season’s team, particularly since so many of the most skilled swimmers are freshwomen and sophomores. “Cathy has been a great team player,” said Virtue. “She’s willing to swim in just about any race and go out there and get it done.”

The Mills swimming team will continue their season after the winter break, with their first competitions of the spring semester against Cal Tech, Chapman, and Whittier.