Doug Djang, a member of the men's swimming team from Seattle, Wash., has been selected as this week's Featured Student-Athlete on GoSeattleU.com for his exceptional performance both in the pool and in the classroom.
Djang is one of six Seattle University swimmers to qualify for the 2008 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships, posting an "A" qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 56.63 seconds at the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash., in November. He also was part of the 200 medley relay team that posted an "A" qualifying time of 1:32.82 at that same meet to qualify for the national meet in that event. With "B" qualifying times in the 50 freestyle (21.23) and the 200 breaststroke (2:06.53), he is also eligible to compete in those events at the national championships.
Last year Djang was a three-time All-American at the national meet in Buffalo, N.Y., individually finishing eighth in the 100 breaststroke (57.37) and the 200 breaststroke (2:07.21) and helping the 400 freestyle relay team finish eighth in that event with a time of 3:07.20. He set a school record during the preliminaries of the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:05.89. He won the 100 breaststroke at the PCSC Championships in 57.00 seconds.
Djang has worked hard to raise his grades, making it onto the Dean's List during the Fall 2007 quarter and improving his grade point average to 3.083. He has yet to declare a major, taking part in the pre-major program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
"Doug brings enormous passion to the pool. That passion supports an exceptional work ethic and significant competitive outcomes," head coach Craig Mallery said. "Doug has spent many extracurricular hours learning about the science of swimming and in doing so has been a strong peer mentor to teammates."
Djang and the rest of the Seattle University swim team heads to Long Beach, Calif., for the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference Championships this Wednesday through Saturday, Feb. 13-16.