Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Nickname: “People on the swim team call me Morgs”
Favorite quote: “If you dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”
How long have you been swimming? “I’ve been swimming since I was 9, so almost 12 years now.”
What else are you involved in on campus? “Along with swimming, I am a member of SAAC, which is the Student Athlete Advisory CommitteeCould you tell us a little more about the Athlete Advisory Committee? “The Student Athletic Advisory committee is a a group of student athletes who represent their respective teams and athletes in addressing things like marketing, community involvement, the image of athletes on campus or any issues that really pertain to the athletic community. I am currently the representative for the Women’s swim and dive team.”
On finding a balance between school and swimming… “Sometimes it is hard to balance, especially during midterms. It’s hard sometimes to keep swimming because you are just so so tired. Now that I’m in my fourth year I’ve gotten used to it, but it’s never easy.”
On her plans for after graduation… “I want to go into chemical engineering. I will probably swim competitively after graduation if I make it into the olympic trials.What type of occupation will you pursue? “I’m not really sure what specific job I would have as a chemical engineer since it usually is more specific to the company you work for. Hopefully grad school will help me to narrow what path I would like to go down as a chemical engineer.”
The olympic trials?! Tell us more. “So I haven’t qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials yet…but I’m hoping to qualify again this spring (I qualified and competed back in 2012). I swam and worked out all summer to try and get in really good physical shape so that I can maintain a high level of training throughout the fall and winter. At Colgate we train six days a week with two to three days of the week having two practices in a day. We also lift and do other conditioning workouts that we call “dryland” since we’re not in the pool. Right now I’m mostly focused on competing and enjoying my last season with my teammates and representing Colgate the best I can and if a trial cut comes with that, it’ll just be that much better.”
On her meet this weekend… “We have two meets this weekend, one with Bryant University in Rhode Island, and then Holy Cross Sunday. We usually don’t have two meets in a row. I typically swim the 100 and 200 backstroke, 200 and 500 freestyle, sometimes the 1000 freestyle.”
How do you feel about breaking the 200 backstroke record? “I’m pretty stoked about breaking the record! I was surprised to do it this early in the season but I had a lot of support from my teammates so they really helped keep me motivated. I definitely couldn’t have done it without them!”