If you told her four years ago that she might go to the NCAA championships, she wouldn't have believed you.

And, if you even mentioned that she would come out of the Big Ten championships with two top-six finishes, she would have thought you were joking.

But now, four years later, senior swimmer Steph Thomovsky has become accustomed to exceeding everyone's expectations, even her own.

"Steph is a neat kid," women's swimming coach Bill Dorenkott said. "She's got a good work ethic. She's not a tremendous talent but she's steady and consistent, and you know that every day you're going to get her best."

Thomovsky, a freestyler who was the last person to earn a walk-on spot on the women's swimming team her freshman year, demonstrated just how far she has come during this weekend's Big Ten championships.

Thomovsky qualified for the finals in the 50 freestyle by setting a new school record in the preliminaries with a time of 23.17.

Although teammate Katie Hostetler re-broke the record several hours later in the consolation finals with a time of 22.99, Thomovsky still placed sixth overall in the event to help the Nittany Lions earn points towards their second-place finish.

Additionally, she combined with Hostetler, Piper Chamberlin and Kristin Weinhold to take third in the 200 free relay. Not only was it a notable finish, but the team also has a good chance at making the cut for the NCAA championships.

"She went from barely making the team to possibly qualifying for NCAAs and maybe becoming an All-American," Dorenkott said. "She's the kind of student-athlete you tell people about for a long time to come."

The entire process, according to Thomovsky, has been amazing, and just the thought of competing against the nation's top talent in the sport is overwhelming.

"It's phenomenal," she said. "I never, ever thought I would have even been considered to go there. It's a complete honor, and it would be phenomenal if it happened."

Thomovsky never saw the national championships in her future because she wasn't even sure she'd be swimming on the collegiate level. She competed for Ninkyuna High School in Scotia, New York, an area not highly recruited by college coaches.

"The team wasn't very good," she said. "We got better because we tried hard, but we weren't that great. New York's not really known for swimming."

Therefore, although she loved the sport, she decided to look at schools without the direct intention to continue her athletic career. On her way to visit Bucknell, she decided to make a quick stop in State College.

"We were coming from Pittsburgh or something, and I said 'Oh, well we'll look at it, I've heard of that before,' " she said. "I looked at it, and I really liked it. They had sheets in the lobby (of the Natatorium). I filled one out, and the coach called later."

So, Thomovsky tried out and earned one of the last openings, and for two years she was a quiet contributor to the team. She finally stepped into the spotlight last year at Big Tens, however, when her time in the 50 freestyle just missed the cut for Olympic Trials.

"I came in with a different attitude that year," she said. "I think I just had more confidence than ever before, probably because of the training background I had been through the last three years."

Based on her performance, Thomovsky finally received athletic aid from the university this summer.

"It means a lot," she said. "You know that people appreciate it, and that you're giving your hardest."

The scholarship, Dorenkott said, was just the next logical step for an athlete who has learned to believe in her abilities.

"Her expectations have just increased, not to mention the fact that she looked at herself in a different light," he said. "She saw she could compete at this level and compete well at this level."

But, Thomovsky is preparing to leave this level behind. The biology major, who will graduate in May, has applied to veterinary school and will begin her higher education in the fall.

Although it will be hard to move on, her experience at Big Tens this past weekend will, at the least, leave her with some incredible memories.

"It was even more sweet because we got second," she said. "The amount of determination and passion I saw in my teammates to get that, it was phenomenal. I've never seen that before."