Federal Way, WA – The trio of senior Amanda Lucia (Easthampton, MA/Easthampton) and juniors Anu Nihipali (Honolulu, HI/Hawaii Preparatory Academy) and Katja Claesson (Fullerton, CA/Troy) of the Wagner women's swimming & diving team concluded their time at the 2015 AT&T U.S. Winter Nationals at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center this past weekend.
 
The Seahawks competed with prominent swimming figures including Michael Phelps, Nathan Adrian, Missy Franklin and Natalie Coughlin. Leading the way at Winter Nationals was Phelps, the 18-time Olympic Champion from Baltimore, MD, who claimed three national titles in three days - in the 200-Meter Butterfly, 200-Meter IM and the 100-Meter Butterfly.
 
"This was an incredible experience for our student-athletes to compete at one of the most prestigious meets in swimming," said fifth-year Head Coach Colin Shannahan. "Our girls exceeded my expectations and I couldn't be more proud. As a program we are reaching an elite level of swimming especially with making the programs first US Olympic Trials cut. We are setting new standards and it is exciting to see these results and watch the program continue to grow and reach higher platforms in swimming."
 
For Lucia and Nihipali, this would be their second straight appearances at Winter Nationals as Nihiapli competed in the 100 and 200 yard Backstroke and the 200 IM while Lucia swam the 100 and 200 yard Fly and the 400 IM last year.
 
Nihipali made program history however this year, becoming the first member of the Wagner Program to ever qualify for US Olympic trials. The Hawaiian native swam the 100-Meter Backstroke and claimed first place in her heat during prelims on Friday morning. She made it into the C-final Friday night seated 24th overall after touching the wall in a time of 1:02.77. At finals, the junior dropped a place in finishing 23rd overall in the event posting an identical time as her morning prelim swim. She time trialed the 100-Meter Freestyle on Saturday as well.
 
Lucia competed in the 200-Meter Butterfly on the third day of competition at US Winter Nationals. In the final event of Saturday morning prelims, Lucia took second place in her heat, recording a time of 2:19.22 (LCM) and finished the weekend 42nd overall in the 200-Meter Fly. On Sunday, Lucia time trialed the 100 Butterfly in short-course yards and posted a time of 57.4, which ranks as the sixth fastest time in the event in the Northeast Conference.
 
Claesson was the first to swim of the trio in her debut at US Winter Nationals. She swam on the second day of competition in the 100-Meter Breaststroke. The California native claimed second place in her heat, clocking in a time of 1:12.17. Claesson's time was less than a second off the US Olympic trials cut (1:11.49) for the event.
 
The Seahawks take a break from competition and head into month long high-intensity training schedule before facing the University of Rhode Island at the Spiro Sports Center at 1:00 p.m. on January 16.
 
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