TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

At the Summa Care Invitational on Saturday, you posted season-best times of 7:53.11 in the 800 freestyle and 5:16.09 in the 500 freestyle. What are your personal goals as you head into the conference championships and other end of season meets?
Like everyone else on my team, we really try to drop our times for the MAC Championships. We work really hard up that meet and then we taper right before it, so that we’re rested and we can go as fast as we can. I want to drop my time so I can place in the finals and score some points for the team.

You get just over six weeks off after last weekend's Summa Care Invitational in Akron. What does the team do and work on during the break?
Over winter break, we work a lot on our endurance base. We’ll have double practices right after exams are over and we’ll also go to a training camp in Arizona where we’ll also swim doubles and also work on our race strategies for MACs.

Against St. Bonaventure, you swam the 1,650 freestyle and then also participated in the 4 x 100-yard freestyle relay later in the event. How difficult is it to get back in the pool after swimming a mile earlier in the meet?
It’s pretty difficult just because the 1,650 is such a long event. At St. Bonaventure, there’s no warm-down pool, so there’s not much you can do after the race, but one good thing is that the 1,650 is the first event and the relay is the last event so I had enough time to recover. Other people on my team have to swim races back-to-back and I think that’s more difficult.

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?
I thought it was great. I was really excited to have Scott as our head coach. He’s been doing a fantastic job. Everyone has really been improving and working very hard under him. I hope that he’s still our coach next year. I think he could take this program to a very good place.

You have swam in three relays as a freestyle swimmer and three individual freestyle events at UB. Which races do you like best, the shorter races such as the 200 freestyle or the longer races like the 800 freestyle?
I prefer the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle because they are a little bit longer but not too long. I also enjoy the 800 freestyle relay because it is a relay and I get to compete with my other teammates.

You list your greatest athletic experience as swimming at junior nationals at age 12. What was that experience like for you?
It was crazy because I was so good at such a young age. It’s been a struggle for me, now, because I am still trying to better some of those times I did so long ago.

Coming from Amherst, what got you interested in coming to UB to continue your swimming career?
I was just so happy that UB had everything that I was looking for. It’s great in academics. It has a really strong program. I was familiar with the coaches at the time and it also allowed me to stay close to my family.

Your brother, Mark, is a wide receiver at Penn State, where he was unfortunately injured this year, but even so, how exciting has it been for you and your family to watch the turnaround that has happened in the Happy Valley this year?
It’s been really great. I’m really happy for Mark and his team. I feel that their team works so hard just like Mark and I think that when Mark recovers next year, Penn State will still have an outstanding year and Mark will get to be an even bigger part of that success.

You’ve seen a lot of things change at UB in the past four years. We’ve installed turf on the football field, had an All-American wrestler and men’s basketball player, come a half-second away from the NCAA Tournament in men‚s basketball and even seen four of last year’s senior athletes sign professional contracts. How much fun has it been to be a part of UB athletics in the last four seasons?
It’s been really great to see how all the teams are really improving and striving to accomplish these things. I think that again, in four more years, the University can accomplish so much more. One thing I remember with our basketball team, my freshman and sophomore years, my teammates would go to games and it would only be us and a few other athletes in the arena, but now to see it full with everybody and to get the UB community so much more involved has really been great.

What has been your favorite moment as a student athlete at UB?
It would be really hard for me to pick out one moment because I’ve enjoyed so many things along the way. I’ve really enjoyed the friendships that I’ve made with my teammates and I hope I will continue to have those friendships the rest of my life.

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