Leslie VanWinkle Advances to NCAA Championships

Leslie VanWinkle was named the BIG EAST Swimmer of the Meet and is the first U of L woman to make two A-Cuts for the NCAA as well as two Olympic Trial marks.

March 19, 2008 | Swimming & Diving

March 19, 2008

University of Louisville junior swimmer Leslie VanWinkle will make history as the Cardinals' first ever swimmer to compete in the NCAA Championships that begin Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. VanWinkle, who was named the 2008 BIG EAST Swimmer of the Meet, will swim the 200-IM on Thursday, the 400-IM on Friday and the 200-back on Saturday.

"She is a woman on a mission and has been all year. She is going into this meet with that approach," said U of L coach Arthur Albiero. "She's a tough cookie and ready to showcase her talent."

She qualified in the 200-IM with a time of 1:59.17. Her 400-IM time of 4:11.99 was in the top 16 in the nation as her strongest event. Swimmers who qualified for any event can also swim any race for which they made a B-cut as well, which enables VanWinkle to also swim the 200-back.