College Recruit Rankings Profile: Five-Star Brenna MacLean, Class of 2010

PHOENIX, Arizona, August 6. BRENNA MacLean, a five-star recruit from the Class of 2010, is the next up in this summer's series of Swimming World College Recruit Rankings Profiles. MacLean demonstrates the continued inclusion of international swimmers in the rankings, as she hails from West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She attends Collingwood School and swims for the West Vancouver Otters.

MacLean maintains her profile in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks, and is a butterfly specialist. Her top long course meter times are in the 100 fly (1:00.89) and 200 fly (2:12.56).

When and where did you start swimming?
My dad always wanted me to be a sailor, so when I was little he signed me up for swim lessons for safety. Eventually, swimming lessons wanted to hold me back a level because I wasn't good enough – this is when I began becoming competitive.

Who would you name as the most influential person and coach in your swimming career?
The most influential people in my life at the moment are most definitely my parents. From the beginning, they have supported me no matter what, and are always looking out for what's best for me. It is extremely helpful and reassuring when your family and close friends are supportive and understanding, especially for swimming. Janusz Kaczmarek, my swim coach of the West Vancouver Otters Swim Club, has a lot of influence on how I execute my swimming career. Janusz is always there to help guide me to where I want to be, or even just for everyday advice.

What, to this point, is your best moment in the sport and why?
At this point, the best moment in my sport was this past Spring in Toronto for Senior Short Course Nationals. I qualified for the 6th spot in the A final, and ended up winning the bronze medal and breaking an 11 year old 15-17 age group Canadian record in 200 butterfly with a time of 2:09.09. It was a great feeling to be the youngest on the podium.

Walk us through a day of practice:
During the school year, a regular week of practice includes: waking up at 4:53 am to be at morning practice for 5:15 am for a two-hour session. After this I will l drive straight to school for 8:15 am, which usually consists of a quick snack in the car. I train Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. School finishes at 3:00 pm, which gets me to practice right on time for 3:30. Depending on what day of the week it is, I may or may not have a dryland session. Monday and Wednesday are single two-hour sessions of swimming, while Tuesday, Thursday and Friday consist of one-hour of dryland, with a two-hour swim following. Saturday morning is always 6:00 to 8:00 am, usually with personal trainer, massage or chiropractor afterwards. I nap whenever possible.

What is your favorite set?
My favorite set is three rounds of 8×50 butterfly on an interval of 50 seconds. The pace for this set is based off of my 200 butterfly goal time, descending the last three 50's.

What is your least favorite set?
I don't have a specific least favorite set, but I am not a fan of heavy duty long distance freestyle!

What are your short-term goals?
Right now my short-term goals include becoming more consistent during tough training sessions, focusing on maintaining a 3.8 GPA or higher, performing my absolute best during competition, balancing all aspects of my life, and being able to attend an amazing University.

What are your long-term goals?
Being able to represent Canada at a Senior International level has always been a goal of mine. I am also very interested in representing a U.S. University at NCAAs, and helping achieve the championship title.

What colleges are you interested in so far?
I am a west coast girl, and love the heat, so at the moment I am interested in Stanford, Cal Berkeley, Arizona, Georgia and Texas.

What has the recruiting process been like so far, now that you are allowed to be called by coaches?
The week of July 1 was very exciting because I got to speak to coaches on a personal level versus email. It is always a confidence booster to hear that amazing, well-known coaches want you to swim for them! Although I take the recruiting process very seriously, I can usually be a joker, or have a sense of humor while on the phone – it makes the recruiting process a little easier knowing I can be myself. I look forward to talking to coaches more and more everyday.

Is there anything else interesting that you'd like our readers to know about you?
My friends know me for not only being a swimmer, but the girl that will eat anything, anytime, anywhere. If anyone has leftovers, they know who to give it to.

RECRUITS: To make sure we have the most updated information on your recruiting, and to earn the highest star ranking you deserve, please either create a new profile, or request to take over your admin-created account in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings powered by Take Your Marks. Then make sure to update your profile with your top times. Click here for information on how to do so.

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