On a weekend with two home meets and a celebration for St. Catherine University seniors on the swimming and diving team, it is only fitting that senior Kathleen VanDeVoorde (Rochester, Minn.) had one of best weekends this season. For her three event wins and contributions in impressive relay finishes, VanDeVoorde has been named the Wildcat Athlete of the Week.Â
With less than three weeks to go before the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships on Feb.13-15, VanDeVoorde did some of her best swimming in the Wildcats' dual meet with Augsburg and Macalester Colleges Friday and at the St. Kate's Invite Saturday. During the dual, VanDeVoorde placed first in the 100 Backstroke with a time of 1:01.89 that was just off of her season-best time in her primary stroke. She then raced to an impressive third-place finish in the 50 Freestyle – an event she doesn't normally swim – with a time of 26.40. VanDeVoorde also swam the lead off lap in the 200 Freestyle Relay to open the meet with a first-place relay time of 1:43.29.
On Saturday, VanDeVoorde had first-place individual finishes in both the 200 Backstroke (2:15.22) and the 200 IM (2:21.6).She also was second in the 400 IM with a time of 5:00.23 and again swam the lead off lap in the Wildcats' second-place 200 Freestyle Relay.
Thus far in her career, VanDeVoorde was a member of the school record-setting 800 Freestyle Relay team at the 2013 MIAC Championships. She has also competed in multiple finals at the MIAC Championships in her four years and holds five times that rank No.10 all-time at St. Kate'sÂ
VanDeVoorde and the rest of the Wildcats will compete in their final meet before the MIAC Championships at the University of St. Thomas MIAC Invite this weekend. Events begin Friday night at 6 p.m. and Saturday morning at 9 a.m.
