Tscherne is first UTPB female swimmer to make NCAA DII Championship Meet

UT-Permian Basin senior Jazmine Tscherne became the first female swimmer in UTPB history to earn a bid to the NCAA D2 Championship Meet.

Tscherne punched her ticket to the NCAA championship by re-breaking her own record in the 200 backstroke earlier this month at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet. Tscherne’s time of 2:02.28 earned her a 5th place finish and a NCAA “B” cut, according to UTPB Athletics.

The NCAA DII Championship Meet will be held March 7-11 in Indianapolis.

“The Falcons have a rich championship history, however, this is the first swimmer to make the championship meet since joining the NCAA in 2006,” UTPB reported.

Tscherne’s accomplishment was accompanied by other “firsts” for UTPB swimmers at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Meet. Emma Gerhart re-broke her 1,000 free mark while swimming the 1650 to break the team record in the mile, while the Falcons’ “A” relay team of Gabriela Gonzalez, Tscherne, Gerhart, and Avery Joiner set a new school record with a time of 3:33.63 and a 5^th place finish. In the 3 meter, 11 dives event, Kathe Hepfer set a new school record for 447.40 finishing 3rd, according to UTPB.

“I am so very proud of how the team competed this week,” said Head Coach Betsy Graham. “We swam fast, broke records, and had an amazing evening of NCAA cuts. It was an amazing week.”