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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 106 BY TIM CARY Special to Gold and Black Illustrated K aersten Meitz had plans for the summer of 2017. They didn't involve a trip to Taiwan. Specifically, the selling and sales management major was looking forward to an internship with Fri- to-Lay in Indianapolis before her senior year that, when coupled with the normal offseason training schedule of a collegiate swimmer, was certainly more than enough to keep her busy. And when women's swimming and diving coach John Klinge mentioned the possibility of qualify- ing for the World University Games, she didn't really take it seriously. "I kind of just brushed off when he said it, because I didn't think there was any way that could happen," Meitz said. Spoiler alert: It did. Everything changed for Meitz in May, as she made a clear breakthrough in the pool while training ahead of the Boilermaker Aquatics early bird meet. "The two weeks prior, I somehow made a big jump in my training," Meitz said. "I was killing it every day, breaking new limits every day and going best times in practice. I knew that going into that meet, despite the fact that I was tired and not tapered, that I was going to swim well. I didn't think I was going to swim as well as I did, but that was a big confidence booster for me." The result: Meitz posted significantly improved times in all three of her events and began to realize for the first time that an international competition like the World University Games was more within reach than she pre- viously imagined. The real test came a month later at the USA Swim- ming's FINA World Championships Trials. Meitz juggled her internship and training ahead of the meet in India- Breaking Through Purdue Meitz, a senior, has been well decorated on a Big Ten and international stage.