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HOLLAND – As Sophia Umstead heads to the largest junior nationwide stage, she is getting ready for the largest faculty stage.
The Michigan Lakeshore Aquatics swimmer is headed to Virginia to affix the five-time NCAA defending champion Cavaliers.
There Umstead will practice each day with a bunch of Olympic medalists, a number of the identical swimmers she competed towards on the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials.
“That experience was very important for me. It was a new experience and it gave me more exposure to bigger meets and high-stress environments. It was really good for me. I am so grateful I was able to make it,” Umstead stated.
Now she is going to be part of a Virginia staff that has obliterated many of the NCAA information prior to now 5 years.
“It has been incredible to watch what Virginia has done. It is the best place I can be at for my goals. I am excited to compete with and train with these girls every single day, and learn from them,” she stated. “It was a dream come true that Virginia wanted me. It is very special to me that I can do something I love at the highest level.”
Umstead will look to contribute immediately at Virginia and hopefully make the NCAA Championships, along with her greatest occasion being the 200 breaststroke.
“My biggest goal is making the NCAA team and competing for a national championship with the team. The new training and the weight training will help a lot, especially my breaststroke,” she stated. “That will give me a fresh start on that breaststroke. Winning a national title individually is one of my biggest goals for my time at Virginia. I am just excited to see where the team takes me.”
First, Umstead will end her MLA profession on the U.S. Junior National Championships, which start subsequent week in Irvine, California. Umstead will swim the 50-, 100- and 200-meter breaststroke occasions in addition to the 200 IM.
“I have been training really well lately, so I have high expectations for the meet,” Umstead stated. “I am just really excited to get out there and see what I can do. I am excited to compete with these girls at juniors and I think it will help with how good I am feeling heading into juniors.”
Umstead, a Jenison native who selected to coach at MLA in Holland, was a bronze medalist at Winter Junior Nationals within the 200 IM (short-course yards) and has been a relentless power at junior nationwide occasions since she was 12.
“MLA has been so special to me. It has been my home. It definitely got me excited when I was young,” she stated. “We have had amazing swimmers and MLA has just helped my love for swimming and has carved who I am as a swimmer. I couldn’t have asked for a better club experience.”
And Umstead has been a type of wonderful swimmers who has made the Olympic trials, medaled at junior nationals and gained a number of highschool state championships. She has been the face of MLA for the previous few years.
“She has been the mainstay of the program. She has been such a big piece of what we have done. But we are so excited for her future,” MLA coach Ian Townsend stated. “We know she is ready for the next step, joining the five-time NCAA champs. She has been the best ambassador for our team, showing what we are all about.”
Contact sports activities editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’[email protected]. Follow him on X, previously often known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
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