Men's swimmer Marc Eder '12 was selected to compete at the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships at the University of Minnesota starting March 18 after recording B-cut qualifying times in three events throughout the season. Eder will compete in the 200-yard breaststroke, the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley at the meet. Eder will be the first Brandeis men's swimmer to compete in the NCAA Championships since Matt Christian '05 in 2005.

"Over the summer, I thought I could do this, and then actually getting in the pool and swimming at the start of this season, I was a little wary," Eder said yesterday. "I didn't think I could do it early this season, but I'm happy I did."

Women's swimmer Angela Chui '12 was selected as the first alternate to the NCAA Championships after recording NCAA B-cut qualifying times in multiple events while also breaking 11 school records this season.

Eder's best performance this season came at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships March 1, where he beat Christian's school record in the 200-yard breaststroke by three seconds with a time of 2 minutes, 4.79 seconds, finishing 12th in the event.

Eder is ranked as the No. 20 swimmer in the 200-yard breaststroke in Division III on the men's side and Chui is No. 21 in the 400-yard individual medley on the women's side. This season, the NCAA selected the top 22 men's swimmers in the 200-yard breaststroke and the top 20 women's swimmers in the 400-yard individual medley to compete at this year's NCAA Championships, putting Chui one spot shy of qualifying outright.

"[Chui] made her first cut back in October [and has done so again in] many other events," head coach Jim Zotz said. "If she does [compete], she will do well. She'll train with us, and we'll keep our fingers crossed."

According to Zotz, Chui is the first alternate to the NCAA?Championships and will only compete if another competitor is forced to drop out of the meet due to injury or roster limitation guidelines set forth by the NCAA. Zotz said each school is only allowed to send 18 participants to the NCAA Championships. If a school had more than 18 particpants qualify, the NCAA would only allow up to 18 to participate. However, Zotz said that any open spots woul likely be filled by a competitor already at the NCAA Championships competing in a different event instead of an alternate such as Chui.

"There's nothing we can predict, but we're hoping," Zotz said.

Eder said he thought he had the best chance to succeed in the 200-yard backstroke.

"The 200-yard breaststroke is my best event," Eder said. "I'm seeded 20th, and the top 16 [swimmers] make the finals. I'd like to swim [in the finals], so I'm hoping to drop a little time."

Zotz said that both swimmers have had successful rookie seasons.

"They're ranked 20th and 21st in the country. That's huge," Zotz said. "They've both represented themselves and the school well.