Swimming and Diving prepare for season stretch

By Kassandra Hernandez/Contributing Writer

 

The Panthers’ Swim and Dive team have earned winning records in Texas for Conference USA and at home for the two-day meet against Illinois.

These FIU athletes have to balance their academic studies with their dedication to the sport of swimming and diving.

Between practice and classes, the swim and dive team have to know how to manage time and concentrate on achieving higher goals each passing week.

Taylor Grabenhorst, a sophomore from Orlando, Florida has been named in the Dean’s list for maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or better, a fulfillment that follows four honor rolls from her high school years.

Grabenhorst shared her thoughts on her athletic career while attending Timber Creek High School after practice last Tuesday. She was part of a swimming club, which gave her the chance to be recruited, and her experiences at meets got her thinking about attending FIU as a student and swimmer.

“My club coach actually introduced me to coach Randy and that’s how I got to talking to FIU,” said Grabenhorst. “Many times he came to see me in my high school state meet.”

Grabenhorst took advantage of the competition during her high school years to compete in a collegiate team. The time she spent competing for her former club prepared her as a college athlete because she competed in consecutive meets just as often as she competes at FIU.

“Each week or every other week there’s a meet, so that is the way it prepared me,” she said.

Junior Naomi Ruele, who recently earned a Co-Swimmer of the Week title by Conference USA, helped her team beat the Fighting Illini by nearly 100 points on the Saturday of the two-day meet with a solid start.

Ruele says she motivates herself with the spirit of her team.

“I think going in, I just typically feed off the energy of my teammates,” said Ruele.

She sets personal goals to improve her performance.

“I like to beat myself every single day,” said Ruele. “So, who I was yesterday is not the person I am today. If I beat myself from yesterday, I’m definitely going to keep improving no matter what.”

Ruele and her teammates spent time reading to elementary students for community service along with the Illinois team, before the dual meet.

“We all had high spirits. We were all full of energy and I think that’s what contributed to my high performance,” Ruele said.

Coach Randy Horner expects the best from his swimmers regardless of the obstacles they face.

“We didn’t go as well as we wanted in New Orleans for Dual-A-Pool-Ooza,” said Horner. “There were many factors involved. We didn’t have our best weekend, but we came back strong.”

Horner believes in the potential of each of his athletes and the team as a whole.

“They’re awesome ladies. They come in committed as athletes as well as committed students. If you’re committed to be excellent in the water, you’ll be committed to be excellent in everything you do.”

Through the support of the team and the guidance of their coach, they are preparing to compete against Georgia Southern on Dec. 14.