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Career Best Times: 1:49.02 in 200-yard freestyle; 4:43.94 in 500-yard freestyle (School Record, 6th in ACC history); 9:39.54 in 1000-yard freestyle (School Record, 2nd in ACC history); 15:58.74 in 1650-yard freestyle (School Record, 2nd in ACC history) General: Two-time letter winner who is one of the premier distance swimmers in the country...an All-America and All-ACC selection in both previous seasons...set a trio of school records as a sophomore...at the 2007 U.S. Summer Nationals she placed fourth in the 1500 meters, eighth in the 800 meters and 16th in the 400 meters...at the 2007 U.S. Open Water Swimming Championships she placed fourth in the 5k race and eighth in the 10k event. 2006-07: Had an outstanding sophomore season for the Tar Heels...was named the squad's Most Outstanding Swimmer...merited first-team All-America honors...at NCAA's, she took 15th in the 500 free, setting a career best in preliminaries...also swam on the 800-yard freestyle relay...scored all of UNC's points at the NCAA meet...she finished third in the 1650 free, besting her own school record in the event set at ACC's...her third-place finish was the highest finish for a Carolina swimmer since the 2004 NCAA Championships...she also clocked a personal best at NCAA's in the 1000 free...multiple event winner at ACC's...anchored the 800-yard free relay that set a new pool record...placed 10th in the 200 free...was the top finisher in the 500 free with an NCAA automatic bid and also finished with an automatic bid and a first place finish in the 1650 free, clocking a school record that would later be broken at NCAA's...named a 2007 first-team 7 All-America in the 1650 free and an honorable mention All-America in the 500 free...achieved honors as an All-Conference Performer in the 500 and 1650 freestyles and on the 800-yard free relay...her record-setting swims in the 500, 1000, and 1650-yard freestyles launched her to the top spot on the All-Time depth chart for Carolina in each of the distances and into the Top 10 all-time clockings in ACC history...named ACC Women's Swimmer of the Week on January 15, 2007. 2005-06: Was named the team's Most Outstanding Swimmer...etched her name into the Carolina record book by setting the school record in the 500-yard freestyle during the Nike Cup preliminaries...her time of 4:44.25 was seven tenths faster than former record...earned honorable mention All-America honors in the 500-yard freestyle after taking 15th place at the NCAA Championships with a time of 4:47.36...also swam in the 1650-yard freestyle at NCAA's...at ACC's, she was the highest finishing freshman in the 500-yard freestyle, taking second place at 4:46.30...finished just one spot behind teammate Nicole O'Donnell in the 1650-yard freestyle with a swim good for fourth place...missed competing in the consolation final of the 200-yard freestyle by one spot...won the 200 freestyle and took second in both the 500 and 1650 freestyle events at Nike Cup...her time in the 1650 free at Nike Cup put her into third place all-time at UNC. Prep: Graduated from Bronxville High School on June 18, 2005...was the runner-up at the state high school meet twice each in the 200 and 500 freestyles...a seven-time high school All-America selection, three times in the 200-yard freestyle and four times in the 500-yard freestyle...a four-time New York sectional champion, twice each in the 200- and 500-yard freestyles...a 17-time state qualifier in individual and relay events...captain of N.Y. Section One state team her senior year...anchored seven N.Y. Section One championship relay teams in the 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay...member of two state championship teams and three straight sectional championship squads...was most valuable performer of her high school team for four straight years and captained the team as a senior...was the 2004 N.Y. Section One Swimmer-of-the-Year and a five-time member of the N.Y. Section One All-Star team...a three-time Scholastic All-America choice...was the high point award winner in the Senior Metro Championships after winning the 200-yard, 400-meter, 500-yard, 800-meter, 1000-yard, 1500-meter and 1650-yard freestyles as well as the 400-yard individual medley...achieved Olympic Trials standards in the 400-meter freestyle and 800-meter freestyle...placed fifth in the 800-meter free at 2004 summer nationals, while placing eighth in the 1500-meter free and 11th in the 400-meter free...member of the national age group record-setting 800 free relay team (7:24.51)...she excelled as a competitor for the Badger Swim Club where she was coached by John Collins...swam for Badger for five years....qualified for senior nationals from 2002 to 2005. Personal: Given name is Whitney Coulter Sprague...nicknamed Whit...was born December 16, 1986 in Bronxville, N.Y....is the daughter of Liz and Bill Sprague...has one brother, Travis, 16, and one sister, Abby, 18.
In Whitney's Words |
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