TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

At the Zippy Invitational in Akron, you set three school records, in the 500 freestyle, 100 breaststroke and the 200 butterfly. How did you get set to compete so strongly, not just in one event, but three?
The work that I put in this summer and all season paid off when I tapered (rested) for the two weeks prior to the meet. In swimming you can’t really just taper for one event. If I taper then my whole competition should be strong. These are also the events that I will not be swimming at MACs so it was my last chance to post some good times in them.

You have earned many conference honors, from three first-team All-MAC awards to the Mid-American Conference Swimmer of the Year award as a sophomore. How nice is it to know that you have the respect of the coaches in the conference as one of the best swimmers in the league?
It’s nice to have the respect of other coaches but what is more important to me is the respect of my teammates and my coaches. I know how hard they have to work and they know how hard I work so we have a mutual respect for one another.

Now that you have reached many of the conference’s highest honors, what are your goals in your last season as a swimmer at UB?
Conference awards are an honor to receive but in the end what matters is my time on the clock. My goal for the championship meet is to make personal best times in all my events. If I achieve that, I will be happy.

In your sophomore year, you won the 200 individual medley, setting a MAC Championship meet record and becoming the first MAC Champion since 2000. Coming into the meet, did you have the goal of setting a MAC record as well as winning the race?
That race was one of my best swims in my career. I knew that I had a chance of winning but I never thought that I would break the record. The pressure of the meet, the fanfare and the great team atmosphere helped make the perfect setting for me to perform well.

Individual medley incorporates freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. What are some of the differences between the different strokes and which do you prefer?
Freestyle and backstroke are quite similar to each other and are usually used to train endurance. Breaststroke is a more technical stroke that can take a very long time to swim well. Butterfly is a power stroke. Breaststroke is probably my favorite because it is the stroke that I used to swim a lot when I was a kid and I qualified for my first Jr. Nationals in it.

Coming from Toronto, what made you decide that Buffalo and competing in NCAA athletics was the right fit at college for you?
What really sold UB to me were the coaches and the team atmosphere. I was looking for a team that was united and positive and Buffalo was the right choice. I have always known that I wanted to swim in college in the States because of the better opportunities that they offer in sports.

At the Olympics this year, Michael Phelps won seven gold medals, putting swimming on the front of sport pages across the country for two weeks. Do you think his performance will encourage more young people to start to swim?
I think that Phelps’ performance may encourage younger people to start swimming, but it will also motivate current swimmers to train harder so to achieve the higher expectations that have been set by him.

As a UB Scholar-Athlete as a biomedical science major, how difficult has it been to juggle academics with practice and meet time?
I have been swimming for 15 years now so juggling other activities doesn’t seem so hard anymore. It actually helps me keep on track with my work by forcing me to mange my time wisely.

In your online biography, you say that if you had a million dollars, you would travel the world. What’s one place you haven’t been to that you would like to see first?
My newest adventure that I am saving up for is a trip to South America that includes biking, hiking, kayaking and horseback riding as modes of transportation. Hopefully I can do it sometime this year but it depends on school, work and money.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB student-athlete?
I really thought about this question and discussed it with my housemate. Instead of getting one answer, we thought about all the great times and laughs we’ve had here. I can’t just talk about one favorite moment. I’ve had awesome experiences on training trips, dual meets, team activities outside of the pool and I’ve had some great interactions with the coaches. And I still have a month left to have many more!

“The 10 Questions With…” feature is compiled by Joe Guistina.