Name: Lukas Leung
Year: Senior
Major: Math and Computer Science
Hometown: Memphis, TN
How long have you been on the Clark Swimming and Diving Team?
This is my fourth year.
What events do you swim for Clark?
Primarily the 100 Free and the 50 Free.
What are the biggest challenges you have faced as a student athlete?
Time management is by far the hardest thing. Between 14 and 20 hours of practice per week, it’s hard to find time to balance a full class schedule, a double major, club activities and a social life.
What organizations are you involved in on campus?
I’m involved in the C4 club and I’m the co-president of Clark ACM (American Computing Machinery). I’ve also made appearances on SARC, and I was an ACE mentor during my Junior year.
What has it been like being a captain on the team this year? What are your responsibilities?
Essentially being a captain means acting as a middleman between our Coach and the rest of the team. If people have a problem that they don’t want to go straight to Coach with, they can come talk to us as well. We’re the leaders of the team, so we make sure that everyone is doing what he or she is supposed to and having a good time. We also arrange pasta dinners before meets and host Captains’ Practices for the team.
As you head into the NEWMAC Campionships this weekend, how do you feel the Cougars will do?
I’m really excited, because I think that everyone has been putting in good, hard work. We have a young team this year, so for a lot of swimmers it will be their first NEWMACs. I expect a lot of people to do some lifetime bests at this meet, which is going to be extremely exciting as well. I also can’t wait to see my friend Tyler dive. It’s his first year diving and he already has 22 dives! That’s really impressive.
What is one of your favorite memories of your years on the swim team?
At my last practice, Coach finally got his revenge on me for saying “Good Morning!” in an overly chipper tone at our 6am practices every morning by pushing me in the pool unexpectedly. It was definitely something I’ll never forget!
Any words of advice for future or up-and-coming student athletes at Clark?
Take advantage of every opportunity you have here because 4 years goes by way faster than you think.
Thanks, Lukas!