2021 and 2022 200 Backstroke A Finalists emma atkinson announced he will remain at Virginia Tech, taking advantage of the pandemic for a fifth year.
Atkinson swam in the NCAA all four years of his career with the Hokies, earning individual invites in his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons and as a relay-only athlete in his senior year (2024).
As a freshman, Atkinson made an immediate impact in the NCAA as one of the team's two individual scorers in 2021. She placed fourth in the 200 back A final with a time of 1:50.43 and advanced to the finals in the 100 back B final. She placed 11th with a score of 51.65, earning a total of 21 individual points.
She placed sixth at the 2022 meet with a time of 1:49.86, once again reaching the NCAA A finals in the 200 back. She placed 18th with a score of 51.99, and although she missed the back 100 B final, she placed 11th in the 200 free B final with a time of 1:44.31.
As a junior, she changed the lineup of events by forgoing the 100 back (held on the same day as the 200 free) and instead swam the 500 free on the second day, the 200 free on the third day, and the 200 back on the fourth day. did. She placed 10th in the 200m free swim B final with a time of 1:43.58.
Atkinson's senior year did not start as planned. She told SwimSwam that she wasn't feeling well earlier this year and that she was “so tired that she didn't feel like eating or getting up and going swimming.” She went to the doctor, who confirmed a recurrence of her mononucleosis and kept her off water for a month. Eventually, Atkinson said, her spleen “enlarged and compressed other organs, causing extreme pain” and she was hospitalized.
Just a week after being cleared to return to the water, Atkinson tested positive for strep throat. Because she doesn't have tonsils, it took her longer to heal than with “normal” strep. Atkinson said: “I was prescribed multiple types of medication, but I was cured after a week. Then I got a stomach bug because my immune system was so compromised from mono and strep. I got infected and had to stay out of the water for another four days. In total, I missed about two months of training.”
For Atkinson, it wasn't just a physical battle, it was a mental battle as well. She still has “new illnesses that crop up almost every week, causing me to miss practice here and there.” She said that mentally, “I thought about redshirting beyond being upset and frustrated that I kept getting sick, because I knew my training wasn't where it was supposed to be. “Also, the fear of not doing well in the ACC or NCAA was what drove me.” I'm very anxious and depressed. ”
“In the end I didn't do it because I wanted to at least go and get some points for the team. Not qualifying for the NCAAs as an individual was something I'd never experienced before. I felt disappointed, embarrassed, and embarrassed. Even in the relays I competed in at NCAAs, I wasn't able to reach my full potential due to lack of training this season and my body and mind being so broken. ”
“I will be entering my fifth year at Virginia Tech, and I’m really looking forward to it because I have one last year to do what I love with the school and program I love.”
Atkinson posted season-best times in all ACC events, finishing 9th in the 200 free (1:45.47), 10th in the 200 back (1:54.12) and 19th in the 500 free (4 It ended in 48.41 minutes). She competed in the 2024 NCAAs as a relay-only athlete, posting a season-best time of 1:45.34 in the 200 free, leading her team to a 14th-place finish. She also had a flying start in the 400-meter free relay with a score of 49.14.
Atkinson's best SCY times are:
- Free 200: 1:43.31 (2023 ACC)
- Free 500: 4:40.62 (2023 ACC)
- 100 back: 51.44 (2021 NCAA)
- 200 Back: 1:49.86 (2022 NCAA)
Virginia Tech's women's team had three individual NCAA qualifiers, including: caroline benz (12 individual points) and chase travis Both students have registered on the transfer portal as graduate school transfers.
