by Jesse Delerno
LSU Sports Information
Editor’s Note: The LSU swimming and diving teams will compete in the 2009 SEC Championships in Auburn, Ala., Feb. 18-21. Check back with LSUsports.net for day-to-day coverage of the conference meet.
It’s one of the most competitive swimming disciplines in the Southeastern Conference ? the backstroke.
With more than one third of the nation’s top-50 athletes in both backstroke events hailing from the SEC, the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes will be two of the fastest races at the 2009 SEC Championships as a plethora of talented swimmers battle to place in the top-16 and score for their respective squads.
And the LSU women figure to be right in the mix with the senior duo of Monica McJunkin and Berit Aljand and freshman sensations Morgan McGee and Samantha Goates. Collectively, the Lady Tigers’ backstroke quartet has already posted four NCAA provisional qualifying marks and five of the fastest times ever witnessed at LSU, and the team is counting on its backstrokers to tally crucial points at the SECs.
Last Trip to SEC’s
For McJunkin and Aljand, the 2009 SEC Championships represents the final conference meet for the senior tandem, and both have high hopes for this year’s competition in Auburn, Ala.
McJunkin entered the 2008-09 season coming off a career year in which she broke the school record in the 100 back and placed 11th in that event at the conference meet, but her final collegiate season didn’t get off to the start she envisioned.
“I had high expectations after how I swam last year,” McJunkin said. “But, to be honest, I was pretty shaken up at the beginning of the season. I knew I was putting in a lot of effort in the weight room and in the pool, and I was doing everything that was asked of me, but the times just weren’t there.”
The coaching staff noticed a small flaw in her backstroke technique, which may have contributed to McJunkin’s slow start. Once the senior made the adjustment, she returned to form in record-setting fashion, breaking her own school record in the 100 back with a time of 54.31 at Texas A&M’s Art Adamson Invitational in College Station, Texas.
“I basically just had to connect my shoulders and hips,” she added. “As soon as I did that at Texas A&M, everything just clicked. Obviously, my time showed that.”
Although McJunkin would like to improve her record time at the SECs in order to guarantee her a spot in the 100 back at the NCAA Championships, the team’s co-captain will be the first to tell you that her ultimate goal is the relays.
“I would like to improve my 100-back record at SECs, but my main goal is those relays,” McJunkin added. “I want at least six or seven girls at NCAAs this year, and I think this team has a chance to do that this year.”
Like McJunkin, Aljand also enjoyed a career season last year, shattering the program’s all-time mark in the 200 back and earning a top-16 finish at the conference meet, and will likely close out her career with school top-10 marks in both backstroke events.
A product of Tallinn, Estonia, Aljand grew up in a family of nationally-renowned swimmers and trained with her twin sister, Triin.
Four years ago, they chose to continue their training overseas in the United States. While her sister settled on Texas A&M, Aljand followed the advice of former LSU great and fellow Estonian Miko Malberg and joined the Lady Tigers in 2005.
“I was pretty much looking for any school in the south,” Aljand said. “It can get quite cold in Estonia, and I hate the cold! I knew Miko was here, and when I talked to him, he really liked the school and the new coaches. That sold me on LSU.”
However, the Estonian’s initial transition to college life in the United States wasn’t easy.
“Freshman year was really hard,” Aljand said. “It’s so different here, and the relationships between the swimmers and the coaches are much different. Back home, my coaches were my dad and my aunt. I was really close to them, and I saw them practically 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so I had to get used to being away from them.”
On the other hand, Aljand marvels at the different level of exposure in collegiate swimming compared to back home in Estonia.
“Back home, it was really just me and my sister,” she added. “Sure, there was the European Championships and the Worlds, but it’s typically not like it is here. When there is a dual meet, there are like 50 people yelling and cheering for you, which is so awesome.”
Four years after the Aljand sisters’ arrival in the United States, it’s clear the Aljand swimming legacy has extended to America. While her sister, Triin inches closer to completing one of the most prolific four-year campaigns in Big 12 history and younger brother, Martti continues to make a name for himself at Cal-Berkeley, the Lady Tigers’ senior is wrapping up a fine collegiate career in her own right.
But, Aljand isn’t finished yet, and the Estonian wants to go out in style.
“Of course, I want to go out with a personal best, but I want to have as much fun doing it as possible.”
Instant Impact
Over the years, few athletes in the women’s program have shifted so quickly from high school to collegiate swimming, but McGee and Goates made the transition seem effortless.
It took only two months into the season for Goates to overtake Aljand’s record time in the 200 back as the Visalia, Calif., native swam an NCAA ?B’ cut time of 1:57.52 at the Art Adamson Invitational, a mark nearly three seconds faster than her previous personal best.
McGee secured LSU’s second-fastest all-time marks in both the 100 and 200 backs with times of 54.54 and 1:57.81, respectively, at the same invite. Furthermore, she is one of only two freshman backstrokers in the SEC whose top times in both races rank in the conference’s top-20.
A product of Shreveport, La., McGee believes the initial transition to college wasn’t that difficult because she came from a distance swimming background.
“I probably swam more at home than I have here because it was a distance team,” McGee said. “It’s been an adjustment, but it’s been better here because I’ve been able to focus on my strokes.”
However, it took Goates a little more time to adjust to college swimming.
“There is a lot more swimming at this level,” Goates said. “I wasn’t used to doing double days. Back in high school, I would only go once a day or five times a week compared to 10 times a week in college.”
With the SECs beginning Wednesday, the two will look to drop their top times even further to earn bids to the NCAA Championships, March 19-21.
“I’d really like to make NCAAs in my first year, whether it’s in the 200 back, a relay or the 100 back, which is within range as well,” Goates said.
McGee echoed her teammate’s sentiments.
“I have the ?B’ cuts for NCAAs, but that doesn’t guarantee me a spot,” McGee said. “I just want to get fast enough to where I can actually go. Hopefully, we’ll have a good taper, and that will help me drop my time.”
Regardless of how the duo does at SECs, there’s no question that the freshman backstrokers are one of the building blocks for the program’s future.
“These girls have worked very hard,” McJunkin added. “They’ve obviously put in a lot of effort, and it’s paid off this whole year. The future is bright with these two on the team.”