Whittier College Sophomore Erin Bartholomew Qualifies for Nationals in Tennessee

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Erin Bartholomew

WHITTER, CA (03/08/2011)(readMedia)-- Whittier College sophomore sensation Erin Bartholomew is headed to face the elite swimmers of the country as she officially qualified for the Division III Championships as announced early today by the NCAA.

"This is a great opportunity for our program to get exposure on the national level," said head coach Justin Pudwill. "I am excited for Erin to be able to get the chance to compete with the best and I believe that getting our swimmers to national's shows that our program and athletes are doing great things."

Bartholomew, a Midlothian, Va. native, proved herself as one of the top swimmers in the highly competitive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by winning three individual conference titles at the 2011 SCIAC Championships.

"Qualifying for nationals is really exciting," said Bartholomew. "It is very rewarding to work hard during the season and have to opportunity to participate in a national competition."

Bartholomew initially made the 'B' cut in the 1650-Free but saw her time of 17:22.83 holdup against the rest of the country. She will enter the mile swim as the No. 15 seed out of 24 swimmers.

In addition to qualifying for the distance swim, Bartholomew is eligible to enter two more individual events. Like the conference championships, she will take part in the 500-Free where she is currently 23rd out of 45 participants.

Despite winning the SCIAC title in the 400 IM, Bartholomew will forgo entry in that event.

"At the conference meet, Erin was entered in the 500-Free, 400-IM and 1650-Free – all of which she hit national 'B' cuts," added Pudwill. "The distance events are her best events and we want to give her the best chance to qualify for finals. By limiting her to just two events, she can focus more on the 500-Free and the 1650-Free."

Bartholomew's All-American run will begin on the first day of competition. The morning of Wednesday, March 23, she will swim in the trials of the 500-Free at 10 am. The finals for the event are set for 6 pm that evening. After taking two days off, she will return to the pool on Saturday, March 26, for the mile.

The top eight finishers in each event garner All-American honors.

"My personal expectations for any meet are to try to relax and have fun," stated Bartholomew. "I usually perform significantly better when I am enjoying myself and not putting added pressure to go a certain time or finish a certain place in my races."

"I really hope Erin gets to enjoy the experience of this meet," said Pudwill. "She is one of the most talented, hard working, swimmers I've had the pleasure of coaching and I believe that she will be able to challenge the field once she gets to Tennessee."

The championships will be held at the Allan Jones Aquatics Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Beloit College and The College of Wooster are the Division III hosts.

Founded by Quakers in 1887, Whittier College is an independent, four-year college offering a traditional liberal arts program integrated with both professional and pre-professional courses of study. With an emphasis on diversity, community, and curricular innovation, the College's primary mission is to endow students with the education, skills, and values appropriate for global leadership and service. Whittier College is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).