INDIANAPOLIS – Antonie Pieterse became the first Roberts Wesleyan University swimmer to earn All-American status by finishing sixth in the men's 100-yard butterfly at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday evening.
Pieterse, a freshman from Pretoria, South Africa, touched the wall in 46.74 seconds at the Indiana University Natatorium. Pieterse broke his own school record by .3 seconds when he qualified fifth in 46.66 seconds on Thursday morning.
"I'm so stoked, I'm just over the moon happy," Pieterse said. "Coming into the season, I could not have expected that this is where I was going to end up. Top six? I mean among the six fastest of every single DII swimmer in the 100 fly is honestly something I don't really think I can wrap my head around yet. It's amazing. I'm so, so excited."
Pieterse's qualifying time was fifth-best out of 33 swimmers in the field and he was the only freshman to reach the final.
"I am so proud of him, he's worked so hard to get here," Roberts head coach
Sara Smith said. "He was able to race against the best in the nation and prove that he belongs here. This is the perfect cap to an unbelievable season."
Pieterse credited the Roberts coaching staff for helping him prepare for the moment.
"We've been training hard the last few weeks," Pieterse said. "We've been focused on race strategy and just focused on the 100 fly specifically - what I want to do, and break it down to where I want to kick, where I want to breathe, how many strokes I'm doing, how many kicks I'm doing off the turn.
"I trained and practiced it and so much went through my mind. I just had to go out there and do it, and that's what I did."
He was also happy to be able to swim in front of a family member as his sister, Zanri, who attends Kansas State University, was able to travel to Indiana to watch him compete.
Pieterse is the first Roberts swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships since the program began in 2017. He set 13 school records, 10 individual and three relays, this season.
Pieterse competed in the 200 fly prelims on Friday morning, but did not advance to the final. He plans to swim in the 100 freestyle on Saturday.
"I appreciate everybody back home in South Africa and in Rochester sending me messages, supporting me, telling me they're watching and telling me good luck," he said on Thursday evening. "It has just been really amazing. Without the support, I think today would have turned out a lot different."
