Swimmers to Swammers

“Every year, I have that moment where I ask myself, ‘We’re swimming back and forth for five months to try to swim fast in one weekend? That’s absurd. But when I see my team, I know I’m doing it for a good reason, and I love it,” says Kate Wiseman ’15.

Embracing this absurdity has guided Wiseman and Supriya Davis ’15 to being two of the most decorated swimmers in Swarthmore history. While both have broken many school and conference records, perhaps none were more satisfying than their performances at the Centennial Conference championships in late February. In one weekend, the duo broke eight school records and four conference and championship meet records.

They attribute their success to their team—their family away from home at Swarthmore.

 “There’s so much energy, and I want to swim fast for my teammates,” says Davis.

“The energy from [relay] events especially makes me realize that if I didn’t have this team, I wouldn’t be swimming,” adds Wiseman. 

 Wiseman, who will be in Chicago as a Teach For America corps member postgraduation, and Davis, a Fulbright finalist who intends to enter medical school, have begun to reflect on what the transition from “swimmer” to “swammer” will look like.