Van Tassel snaps back to familiar winning form

As a junior for Penn State's swimming team, Karen Van Tassel didn't quite live up to her potential. While she was a sophomore, she made it to the NCAA championships as a member of the 200-yard freestyle relay team for the Lady Lions.

The reason for the downward spiral in her junior year was the MCATs, the test Van Tassel needed to take to get into medical school. She was preoccupied with her future career, which may take her into family medicine or pediatrics after medical school at Pitt, Virginia or Duke.

"As frustrating as last year may have been for her, it was frustrating for the coaching staff as well," Lady Lion coach Bob Krimmel said. "We just assumed certain things would happen."

The coaching staff assumed Van Tassel would build from her sophomore year performance. Along with Deni Rudy, Sarah Duttera and Carmen Kondra, Van Tassel helped set the Penn State record in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:32.57. The trip to nationals earned her All-American status, both academically and athletically.

Instead of improving in the pool the following year, the inherent stress of medical school acceptance got to her.

"Last year I had a terrible year. I was under a lot of pressure," she said. "I'm trying to look past last year."

It appears Van Tassel has been successful so far this season. Last weekend against Brown and Villanova, for example, she had first-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle, the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.

A lighter class load and a more relaxed atmosphere have enabled Van Tassel to perform at the level she is capable of reaching. A change in her swimming attitude also helped.

"This year I noticed I've been a lot more aggressive," she said. "I look at the person in the next lane and think, 'That person isn't going to beat me.' I'm thinking more aggressively."

Her determination didn't begin in the swimming pool -- it commenced in the classroom with her dreams of attending medical school.

"Swimming is a part of her life. It's not all consuming," Krimmel said. "It started in the academic area. She knew that's what she wanted and she went out and got it."

Her academic achievements include earning three All-Big Ten Academic selections and winning three Ellen Perry Academic Achievement Awards.

"Barring a collapse in the spring semester," Krimmel said, "she'll probably be the first to win it for four years."

Van Tassel is also in two honor societies and serves as a peer mentor for premedical majors. Krimmel called her "the ideal student-athlete."

"My grades have always been OK," Van Tassel said. "Swimming has always been a surprise."

She is hoping to pull out a couple more surprises when she heads to the Big Ten championships Feb. 20-22 in Indianapolis.