TicketsFeb. 6, 2006
by Elise Keeler, Sports Communications Student Assistant
Gerdien de Jong isn't the first native of the Netherlands to grace the University of Cincinnati with her presence. In fact, Gerdien's sister, Marein, swam at UC from 1998 to 2002. Though the two sisters never swam together as Bearcats, it is obvious that Marein had a huge impact on where her younger sister would attend college. Gerdien said of her sister, "Marien really liked it here and she made a way for me here, and it was easy to decide that I would follow in her footsteps."
Before de Jong arrived as a student, she had only been to the United States one other time. That was to visit Marien in Cincinnati. She comes from Bossum, Netherlands, and graduated from Goois Lyceum. She competed in the freestyle and backstroke events where she was an accomplished swimmer. De Jong 's favorite memory in the pool comes from her swimming days in the Netherlands. "At my junior national meet, I dropped a lot of time off at the 50 free. I ended up placing third," she said.
De Jong had much success in the Netherlands, but there was more in her future. She could see her sister succeeding at UC, where she owns the school record on the 50 free. "My last year in the Netherlands I wasn't seeing much improvement, and I wanted something different. It is also really hard to combine studies and sports in the Netherland universities so I saw coming to UC as a really good opportunity to try something else." The opportunity has turned out to be something great for the Bearcats and de Jong.
"It was a new start for me because they swim in meters everywhere except the US." She didn't really know how fast she would be because of the difference between meters and yards. The pressure to beat her old times had disappeared and it became a fresh start. The success became apparent as she saw herself dropping time on events from one meet to the next. "It really encouraged me because I was improving."
Her first year at UC went well, and she was successful in the C-USA meet. During the C-USA Championships, she finished in the top eight in three events. Not only that but she was a member of the second place 400 and 800 relay teams. De Jong continued to succeed in her second year here as well. She placed sixth in both the 50 and 100 freestyle at the Conference USA Championships. De Jong also posted team-best marks in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles, and she won the 100 backstroke against Wright State. Her success continued out of the pool as well because she was named a Topcat Scholar.
This season has become a window of opportunity for de Jong and her teammates. Two great things are coming at once for this group of hardworking athletes. For the last couple of years, the swimming team has had to travel to St. Xavier High School to practice. Now they have a facility right in the center of campus. Their facility in the Student Recreation Center can be seen as you walk from Fifth Third Arena to Tangeman University Center. De Jong sees this as a great opportunity for students to recognize the talent of the swim team. The BIG EAST also welcomed UC to its family this year, and the swim team is seeing the benefits of the move. "The BIG EAST is a lot more competitive, and there are swim cuts for the conference tournament." In C-USA there weren't swim cuts, but it's necessary in the BIG EAST due to the level of talent.
De Jong has a world of opportunity in front of her. She hopes to graduate with a degree in chemistry next year. She sees an outstanding future for herself and her fellow teammates with the addition of an on-campus swimming facility. She said, "Now we have the new pool, we can start practicing twice a day. I hope I will see the results of that next year, for my senior year." With the thought of practice engraved in her mind, de Jong is definitely a great pupil for any coach. Her future looks bright and clear whether she will be swimming in the pool or hard at work.