Jim Halliburton, coach of the Saint Louis University swimming and diving team, set his hopes high last year when recruiting high school students for his college program.
Halliburton”s goal throughout the entire process was to gain new swimmers who could participate in a variety of events in order to increase the caliber of the team.
Kelly Tessar, then a high school senior from Nashville, Tenn., not only impressed Halliburton because of the variety of strokes she participated in but also because in high school, she maintained a four-year title of Most Valuable Swimmer.
However, despite these impressive achievements, Halliburton knew that Tessar”s persona was invaluable to the program he was seeking to develop.
‘I was immediately drawn to Kelly because of her friendly personality and willingness to participate in whatever was asked of her,’ Halliburton remarked.
Despite being actively recruited by Division I schools including North Carolina State, the University of Missouri and Xavier, Tessar chose SLU because she thought that ‘It was the right level of intensity and I was impressed with the work hard/play hard mentality of my future teammates.’
Since arriving at SLU, Tessar has wasted little time developing her impressive swimming reputation.
In less than two semesters, she has already set four school records in the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke and in the 200-meter and 400-meter individual medley.
Two weeks ago, Tessar was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Week, a prestigious distinction that has only been given to two other SLU swimmers this year.
Last weekend the team traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., where they participated in the Conference USA Championship Meet.
There, Tessar swam her season”s best times in the 200 IM, 400 IM and the 200-meter breaststroke, and personal career highs in her 100 and 200 backstroke.
In the 400 IM, Tessar came in sixth in the conference and was victorious on the consolation heat.
Earlier in the season, Tessar shattered the school record for the 400 IM when she posted a time of 4:36.58 at IUPUI on Feb. 1.
Tessar earned a first-place finish on Nov. 21 against Eastern Illinois University in the 200 IM just ahead of teammate Megan Capellupo.
In her first meet as a Billiken, Tessar was a solid contributor against Washington University. She took first place in the 200 IM as well as second place in the 100 breaststroke. With her strong finishes, Tessar helped the Bills edge past the Bears in a late rally to start the season off with a win.
