TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Your team is taking this week off before you head into the MAC Championships next Thursday. What are your goals going into the championship meet?
My goal is really to swim the best time and to have fun and be really aggressive and support my teammates.

The MAC Championships bring together all the athletes in the conference for a swimming and diving meet. How much do you look forward to that type of environment, with the whole conference watching you while you swim?
It’s a really exciting environment because everyone is swimming really fast and it makes you want to swim really fast. It’s a real supportive environment too, with all your teammates and fans watching.

Swimming is a sport where the amount of training varies depending on the part of the season you are in. What will the training be like in the next week and a half before MACs as compared to the beginning of the season?
In the next week and a half, it is really our resting part of the season, where we taper our yardage and we really refine our skills, like our starts and our turns and our relay takeovers.

You list fellow UB senior Jackie English as the toughest opponent you’ve ever faced. How much has it helped to have someone like her on your team to help push you?
It’s helped a lot because not only is she the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced, but she’s also one of my best friends. So, just knowing that she’s there to help me do my best is really awesome.

In the middle of the season, from early December to mid-January, the swim team had no meets. What did the team, and you personally, work on during the time away from competition?
That time is our most intense time of our season, where we train the most. It’s the hardest part of our season, but we went to Arizona and we really worked on training hard and getting it done.

This year, you get to work with a "new" head coach in Scott Vanderzell, who was an assistant under Dorsi Raynolds for five years. How nice was it to be able to know that Vanderzell, who was very familiar with the team and program, was going to take over?
It was really comforting to know he would still be here because he’s a great coach and he’s very motivating and very positive. I believe he’s really helped the team this year to compete to their potential.

During a week like next week where you know you will miss the final three days of classes while you travel to Ohio for MACs, how tough is it to keep on top of your academic work?
It’s tough during the conference meets to really stay on top of your work because you really want to focus on swimming and being there. We come back Saturday night and have all of Sunday, so you can get caught up.

You are from Olean, NY, home of Big 4 school St. Bonaventure. What got you interested in coming to UB to swim?
I was looking to go to a big school because I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do, but I also wanted to stay closer to home, so UB offered everything I was looking for and I love the team and the coaching staff, so that’s why I came

This year, the athletic department has started to create a buzz like never before. Not only have two basketball games been sold out, but wrestling and men’s soccer also drew record crowds for events. How exciting has it been to be a part of the UB athletics family this year?
It’s very exciting to go to basketball games and soccer games and see them sold out because I remember when I was a freshman, not many people were going so it’s been a very exciting feeling to be a part of all of it.

What has been your favorite moment as a student athlete at UB?
Really, every moment has been my favorite. I’ve had a great time and to be part of this athletic family is something that I’ll never forget. My favorite moment would have to be being a senior and the anticipation of my senior meet. It was my final home meet and the last time I was able to swim in my pool here at UB, so that’s my favorite moment.

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