TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Hailing from Newmarket, Ontario, what made you decide to attend UB?

The athletic scholarship aspect of it, they don’t really give those out in Canada and the fact that it was pretty close to home.

What is the main difference between swimming at the high school level and competing at the collegiate level?

The difference is that I never really swam for high school swimming in Canada, that’s not really big at all, we swim club. The difference mainly is the fact that now you have something to ride on. Back in club, you paid for it and you kind of followed through on everything all by yourself and you made all the decisions whereas here, its kind of like there’s a lot more pressure on your shoulders and a lot of things to live up to.

Swimming is a sport where the amount of training varies depending on the part of the season you are in. What is your training like at this point in the season compared to the training just prior to the Mid-American Conference Championships held in mid-February?

The training that we’re doing at this point in the season is very much like the training before MAC’s because our season is basically divided up into two sections, which both end in a shave and taper swim meet which is the one we’re having this weekend (Akron’s SummaCare Invitational). Right after this meet that we have this weekend, we’re going to go back into high intensity, high velocity and a lot more yards and it’s going to be a lot more difficult.

After swimming at Akron’s Summa Care Invitational on Dec. 1-3, you have almost six weeks with no competition before a meet against Ohio on Jan. 13. What does the team work on in those six weeks?

Those six weeks are definitely the most crucial time to improve for MAC’s. I’m definitely going to work on my turns, we’re going to work on a lot of technicalities in our swimming, we’re going to work on building endurance and being able to handle lactic acid and just pretty much making our bodies in top shape for MAC’s.

How significant are pool conditions for you as a swimmer? What is the ideal setting for you personally?

Pool conditions to me are probably the most significant factors in swimming. First of all, because swimming is a very mental sport, especially when you’re swimming to push yourself as hard as possible so having good pool conditions really helps you get that drive to swim really fast. The pool we have here is just an absolutely incredible facility. We have a long-course, 50-meter pool, it’s nice and chilly to swim in, it really helps your body get used to the amount of effort you’re putting in right away, so I would say the situation I have right now is perfect.

You are undefeated in the 200-yard backstroke event this season and you were recently named MAC Swimmer of the Week. How exciting has it been to come in and make such an immediate impact on the team?

It has been pretty exciting for me, especially considering I was not expecting this coming into my college career. I feel that so far, I have been really on top of my game and it’s really been a lot of help living off of the drive that I got from all of these awards and accomplishments so far.

Last season, the Bulls finished the season with a 2-5 record and finished 5th out of five teams at the Championships. What are your expectations this season, both for the team and personally, with relation to this being your first season at UB?

My expectations for this team this year are a lot better than we achieved last year. With our 3-0 record already and people winning events like Connor Vander Zalm and Zach Ruske we’re all ready for a really good season. We’re definitely not going to finish last at MAC’s this year, I can feel it already so my expectations are set quite high.

The MAC Championships bring together all of the athletes in the conference for a swimming and diving meet. How much do you look forward to that type of environment and swimming against the best swimmers in your event?

That kind of competitive environment to me is one of the most important things to racing. I always swim really well when I have fast people to swim against and now being in the MAC, there are a lot of really, really fast swimmers. I think it’s really going to help me improve my times by the end of the year and obviously improve our team’s positioning.

You list Eastern Michigan swimmer Mark Kurtzer as your greatest athletic influence. How has he influenced you?

Mark has always been someone I have looked up to, he swam club with me in Newmarket, Ontario for 10 years or so. He’s a year older than me and he’s been setting records in Ontario since he was like 10 years old and it has been just such an inspiration to watch him perform at such a high level and just learning from all of his accomplishments has really helped me become who I am today.

What has been your favorite moment as a UB student-athlete?

It was at Ball State University (Oct. 27, 2006) when I first won the 200-meter backstroke. It was a really close race and I had a lot left at the very end and I pushed it really hard and I ended up coming in first with really a pretty good time for me at that point in the season and just the feeling that came over me was absolutely incredible.

The “10 Questions with…” feature is compiled by Jackie O’Brien.