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St. Cloud State University
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Veteran swimmer, frosh diver headed to nationals
By Ben Birnell
Published:
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Media Credit: Blair Schlichte
SCSU senior swimmer Tesia Zuba has qualified for nationals for the fourth time in her collegiate career.
Media Credit: Blair Schlichte
Freshman diver Sara Steffen (diving at left) has also qualifed for nationals. She dives in the one and three meter events.
In a world dominated by footballs and hockey pucks, swimming and diving somehow manages to stay below the proverbial radar and garner attention only among swimming and diving fans - that is until now.
Two members of the SCSU swimming and diving team are making names for themselves as they prepare for the NCAA Division II National Championships.
Tesia Zuba, a senior who has already made a name for herself in the swimming world, has garnered such awards as being named a 10-time All-American as a member of the SCSU swimming team. Zuba also holds individual records in the 100 meter breaststroke, the 200 meter breaststroke, the 200 individual medley and the 400 individual medley.
The captain's individual successes also have led to awards given to her by teammates. She was named last year's team MVP. Zuba, a native of Estes Park, Colo., won three events at last month's University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point Invitational, including the 400 individual medley and the 100 meter breaststroke. Her time in the 200 meter breaststroke of 2:27.24 was enough to qualify for nationals. Last season, Zuba was second in the 200 breaststroke, and the year before she was second in the nation in the 100 breaststroke.
Zuba's drive to this point in her swimming career has been filled with many hours of hard work and determination. This will be her fourth year competing at nationals.
"I've been swimming competitively since I was seven-years-old," Zuba said. "That's when it all started. Then when I was 13, I started to lift weights and doing morning practices. My friends and I would go to practice in the morning and end up going to school with wet hair."
At the collegiate level, practices have become more of a daily routine. Zuba spends most of her time in the pool. The team practices five afternoons a week for two hours a day. The team also partakes in morning practices also, which means sometimes having to be up by 6:15 a.m. to be in the weight room.
SCSU head coach Jeff Hegle, a former SCSU swimmer himself and in his second year leading the reigns, knows that he has an excellent swimmer in Zuba.
"She's a very hard worker," Hegle said. "One of the things that the old coach could see in her was the look that she had in her eyes. You knew she was going to be successful and do well."
Zuba's teammate, and the second SCSU national qualifier, is freshman Sara Steffen. Steffen's diving career didn't quite begin as early as Zuba's. Steffen started diving competitively as a sophomore in high school and quickly made a name for herself in the high school ranks.
Steffen, a Farmington native, made it to the state finals numerous times during her time in high school. She sees making it to nationals and diving the one meter and three meter as another step in her young career. She definitely believes that her SCSU coaches are helping her to be where she needs to be.
"I think it's a big transition from high school," Steffen said. "But they're definitely helping me with my form and everything."
Steffen went on to say that at this time last year she had some idea that she could make nationals. But, she didn't actually think it would happen.
"I think as a freshman I'm doing well. I'm putting a lot of hard work into it," she said. "But I didn't really think I'd be going to nationals."
Steffen's coach, Carrie Hansen, sees the potential that she has and hopes she continues it in wherever she's going.
"(As a freshman) she's doing well," Hansen said. "I think she has harder dives than most people in conference, so that puts her at an advantage. She's also a competitor and doesn't like to lose, so she usually rises to the occasion when there is a competition."
Zuba, for one, believes she's helping the program as both her and Steffen prepare for nationals.
"Whenever I go to nationals I try to do my best to represent St. Cloud well," Zuba said. "From a personal standpoint, I think I've been working for something like this my entire life."
