In the first meet of her college swimming career, Naomi Woodcock was part of two winning relay teams.
The Brockton resident was a freshman at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., on Oct. 17, 2009 when she helped the Golden Knights win the 300 and 850 races at the Hartwick Relays.
That performance marked the start of a successful career put together by Woodcock, now a senior who will conclude her run by competing at the NCAA Div. 2 Championships for a second consecutive year.
Woodcock, a 2009 Brockton High School graduate, was a consistent point producer and a record-setting swimmer at Saint Rose, and now she is wrapping it all up at the national meet.
?I think it?ll be bittersweet,?? said Woodcock as the end of her days as a competitive swimmer nears. ?I had just a great career, so I can walk away satisfied and happy.
?But I?ll be sad, too, because it was such a big part of my life. It?s not going to be there anymore.??
Woodcock will be taking part in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke races at the NCAA Championships, to be held in Birmingham, Ala., March 6-9, after winning both of those events at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships.
She is ranked 10th in the nation in the 100 with a school-record time of 1:04.17 and 24th in the country in the 200 (2:21.32).
A year ago, Woodcock traveled to Mansfield, Texas, where she placed 17th in the 100 (in what was a school record 1:04.79) and 27th in the 200 (2:24.67). Woodcock was just the second female swimmer at Saint Rose to qualify for the NCAAs.
?When I was there, I was overwhelmed at first, but I didn?t let it get to my head because I knew I belonged there,?? said Woodcock. ?But when I originally walked in there, I was like, ?Wow, this is really amazing.?
?It?s such a great experience. I got to do it last year and I want to finish strong. One last time (is going) to be great.??
Woodcock arrived at Saint Rose following four solid seasons at Brockton High where she set the 100 breaststroke record and competed in the state championships.
As a college freshman, Woodcock was in the top five 15 times and won three events, then had 18 top-five finishes and five victories as a sophomore.
Woodcock made significant improvement in her junior year, getting 10 wins and 23 top-five finishes, and was second in the 100 and 200 at the NE-10 meet.
?Every year she?s improved to above and beyond what I thought she could do,?? said Golden Knights coach Keith Murray. ?At the time she came here, she was a decent swimmer. She was going to be one of the top point scorers.
?I knew she?d be one of our best swimmers, but I didn?t think she?d bring it to the next level like that. She had some experience with swimming, but not a lot like the others who swim for years and years in clubs. She was still fresh to the sport.??
Woodcock, who began swimming at the age of 9 at the Brockton YMCA, kept improving this season, finishing first or second in breaststroke events 11 times.
?I definitely wasn?t expecting be a national swimmer,?? she said. ?I?ve dropped so much time. I really wasn?t expecting it. I put my time in, worked really hard and it paid off.??
Said Murray: ?After her first two years, you could see something was there. Athletes have this certain drive when it comes to racing and competition and there?s nothing I can do as a coach to teach that. Some people just have that innate will to race, to win. Naomi, by far, has that. She loves to race.??
In addition to her success in the pool, Woodcock is a top student majoring in biology. She begins a three-year stay at Sage College in Troy, N.Y., in May to pursue a postgraduate degree in physical therapy.
?It can be demanding, but you need time management and keeping calm about it, not getting crazy about it,?? she said of combining academics and athletics. ?Everything in balance can work out.??
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