Swimmer Jessica Wegner ’22 came back to Wellesley in the fall of 2021, almost a full year and a half since she was last on campus. But the pause in her swim team career doesn’t seem to have held her back.
Frank Poulin Photography
In March 2020, swimmer Jessica Wegner ’22 was training to compete in the NCAA Division III Swimming & Diving Championships—but it was canceled due to the pandemic. Wegner went home to Taipei, Taiwan, assuming she’d be back on campus before too long, but as the pandemic worsened, she decided to stay at home. She came back to Wellesley in the fall of 2021, almost a full year and a half since she was last on campus. But the pause in her swim team career doesn’t seem to have held her back. She qualified to compete in the 2022 NCAA Championship and headed to Indianapolis in March, competing in the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, and 100-yard backstroke. She set a new personal record in the 50 Free, 24.13, and took 16th in the 100 Fly. “I love competing. That’s what really motivates me,” she says. “I came into Wellesley thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I’ll do swimming for a year.’ But I found my love for swimming, and the team culture is a huge part of why I’m still swimming.”
