Athlete of the Week

Emma Carmichael Staff Writer

Already having made a name for herself as one of the top swimmers on the Vassar women’s swim team as well as in Liberty League competition, Allison Koenker ’09 had little to prove in the Dec. 1-Dec. 3 the Liberty League Championships in Rochester, NY. However, she continued her noticeable improvement, earning two season-best times in the 400 Individual Medley (IM) and the 200 breaststroke.

Koenker’s head coach, Lisl Prater-Lee, attributes Koenker’s success to her focus and determination in personal training. “[Koenker] is a very focused and consistent practice swimmer who always applies herself in the water. She takes that same intensity to the competition pool and meet situations and gives it everything she has.”

Koenker says she has been in the water for as long as she can remember, but began swimming competitively when she was just eight years old. In high school she swam both for her high school team and a club team, which she says helped prepare her for the strenuous collegiate schedule.

This season Koenker has had great success in both the breaststroke and the IM, which is a compilation of the four strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. In a meet against New York University on Oct. 28, she finished first in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:11.80 and second in the 200 IM at 2:17.25. She was also a member of the 200 medley relay team that finished second at 1:54.73, just 1.5 seconds shy of breaking a Vassar record. In addition, Koenker earned first place in the 100 breaststroke against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Nov. 12, even after a week off due to illness. In the same meet she finished second in the 200 breaststroke and the 200 IM.

“Allison bounced back very well from illness earlier this semester that took her away from the pool for an entire week,” explained Prater-Lee. “Koenker is a strong competitor, supportive teammate, and a great person to be around. [Her] meet performances directly stem from her high level of training.”

“By the end of season I hope to improve all my personal best times from last year at states, and possibly break the 200 breaststroke record,” said Koenker. “My highest goal, though, is to achieve a Nationals B cut in the 400 IM, and finally, I hope to see our medley relay team break the school records. Overall, my goal for the women’s team is to place fifth or above at states and beat Wellesley at Seven Sisters.”

Koenker and her teammates finished fourth at the Liberty League Championships and are off until they take on Trinity College on Jan. 15. They will be traveling to Florida for training beforehand, where hopefully Koenker will continue her marked improvement this season.