2005-06 Swimming & Diving Roster
Whitney Sprague
- Position:
- Freestyle
- Height:
- 5-7
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Bronxville, N.Y.
- High School:
- Bronxville
Career Best Times: 1:48.36 in the 200-yard freestyle (7th in school history); 4:41.09 in the 500-yard freestyle (School Record); 9:35.76 in the 1000-yard freestyle (School & ACC Records); 15:51.02 in the 1650-yard freestyle (School & ACC Records).
General: One of the tri-captains of the 2008-09 Tar Heels ...stands at the top of UNC's preseason depth chart in the 500 free (4:41.09), 1000 free (9:35.76) and 1650 free (15:51.02)...three-time letter winner who is one of the premier distance swimmers in the country...an All-America and All-ACC selection in her first three seasons...set three school records and two ACC records as a junior...set a trio of school records as a sophomore.
Long Course Highlights: Established three long course school records in the summer of 2008...she set the 400-meter freestyle record at 4:13.63 at the Charlotte UltraSwim, the 800-meter freestyle record at 8:39.15 at the U.S. Open and the 1500-meter freestyle record at 16:35.65 at the U.S. Open...qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 400-meter free and the 800-meter free...placed 11th and set a new school record in the 800-meter free at 8:40.16...had a spectacular 2008 U.S. Open...set a school long course record and placed second in the 800-meter free at 8:39.15...placed sixth in the 400-meter free and was fifth in the 1500-meter free with yet another long course school record at 16:35.65...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.
Open Water Highlights: At the 2007 U.S. Open Water Swimming Championships she placed fourth in the 5k race and eighth in the 10k event.
2007-08 (Junior): Second-place finisher in the 1650-yard freestyle at the 2008 NCAA Championships...ACC champion in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1650-yard freestyle...set three school records and two ACC records during the Nike Cup...her time of 1:48.36 in 200-yard freestyle put her at seventh place in school history and was an NCAA B qualifying time...her time of 4:41.09 in the 500-yard freestyle was a NCAA automatic qualifying time and set a school...her time of 9:35.76 in 1000-yard freestyle set school and ACC records...her time of 15:51.02 in the 1650-yard freestyle was an NCAA automatic qualifying time and also established school and ACC marks...her performance at the Nike Cup earned her ACC Women's Swimmer of the Week honors on November 20, 2008 and later that week the National Collegiate Swimmer-of-the-Week (NCSW) accolades, the latter of which is selected by a panel of collegiate coaches...repeated as the ACC Champion in the 500-yard and 1650-yard freestyle helping to lead the Tar Heels to a second place finish at the league meet...she now has four individual league titles in the past two years...honored as the Progress Energy Performer of the Week after her performance at the ACC Championships where she won two titles... First-Team All-ACC selection...placed second in the 1650 freestyle at the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships with a time of 15:57.77, her second straight Top 3 finish in the event...finished 18th in the 500 freestyle at the Championships with a time of 4:44.29... received the team's Richard E. Jamerson Memorial Award as the squad's Most Outstanding Swimmer...earned 2008 All-ACC honors...honored as a first-team All-American for the second straight season.
2006-07 (Sophomore): Had an outstanding sophomore season for the Tar Heels...was named the squad's Most Outstanding Swimmer...merited first-team All-America honors...at NCAAs, she took 15th in the 500 free, setting a career best clocking in preliminaries... 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 that she had set at ACCs...her third-place finish was the highest individual finish for a Carolina swimmer since the 2004 NCAA Championships...she also clocked a personal best at NCAAs in the 1000 free as her split on the 1650...multiple event winner at ACCs...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 by her at NCAAs...named a 2007 first-team 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 those...named ACC Women's Swimmer of the Week on January 15, 2007.
2005-06 (Freshman): 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 of a second faster than the 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 NCAAs...at ACCs, 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 2005 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 runnerup 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 each year 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
Academic Major at Carolina: Exercise and Sports Science
Hobbies: Sleeping
Athlete I Most Admire: Christina Teuscher
Biggest Sports Thrill: Getting third at NCAA's in the 1650 my sophomore year
People Who Have Had The Greatest Influence on My Athletic Career: My parents and John Collins
Favorite Book: The Eighth Day by Tom Avitabile
Favorite Magazine: Cosmo
Favorite Food: Gluten Free Cookie Dough
Favorite Movie: Father of the Bride
Favorite TV Show: Grey's Anatomy
Favorite Website To Visit: Facebook
City I've Never Been To But Want To Visit: Istanbul, Turkey
