There is much ado made of rankings at Duke. The U.S. News and World Report boasts its list of "America's Best Colleges" in which Duke is tied for fourth. The Princeton Review rates Duke in varying spots, in categories ranging from "Best Overall Academic Experience" to "Most Diverse Student Population." Sports Illustrated even deciphered a "Jock Schools" edition that has Duke ranked 19th. In the end, however, these lists are mainly inconsequential, as freshman swimming phenom Katie Ness can attest.
"I did my best to keep an open mind through my recruiting trips, but Duke was always at the top of my list," she said.
Ness, a former state champion from Thomas Worthington High School in Columbus, Oh., is now earning a top-ranking of her own as one of the better freshman swimmers in America. Just a few months into her college career, Ness claimed victory in the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly and the 200 individual medley at the George Mason Invitational, which Duke ended up winning. She also managed to finish third in the 200 backstroke.
Her placing times were good enough to classify her among the fastest swimmers in the country, according to college swimming.com, which tracks and posts the best times in the United States. Currently, Ness is ranked 59th in the backstroke and 46th in the 200 individual medley.
Most impressively, however, Ness' time in the 100 butterfly is the 24th fastest and is a mere .11 seconds off the qualifying time for the 2004 Olympic Trials. Though representing the United States is Ness' penultimate goal--medaling would be the icing on the cake--Ness is more concerned with short-term goals for now.
"I believe Katie has a very good chance of making NCAAs this year, which is quite an accomplishment for a team that has no scholarships," teammate Amy Halligan said.
Indeed, Ness' decision to swim for Duke was a unique one, simply because the other schools which showed interest in her-Stanford and Georgia, among others-are perennial powers and offer full athletic scholarships for swimming. Head coach Bob Thompson insists that Ness loved Duke from the beginning of the recruiting process, and seemed adamant on enrolling despite the queries from more prestigious swimming programs.
Ness listed five criteria for choosing a college: excellent academics, Division I athletics, swimming prowess, located in the Southern United States to be near family. The final, and perhaps most important reason?
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