College Recruit Rankings Profile: Six-Star Rebecca Rainer, Class of 2011

By Reed Shimberg

PHOENIX, Arizona, May 25. REBECCA Rainer, a six-star recruit from the class of 2011, is the next subject in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings Profiles series. Rainer lives in Richmond, Va., and swims for NOVA of Virginia.

She owns short course yards times of 1:00.82 in the 100 breast, 2:11.54 in the 200 breast and 4:10.21 in the 400 IM. All three of those times would have qualified for the B final at last year's championships. Rainer was slated to go to the NCSA All-Star Meet in Ireland but broke her arm a little before they left and was unable to attend.

Rainer maintains her profile in the Swimming World College Recruit Rankings.

What is your favorite and least favorite set?
I do not have a favorite or a least favorite set because we rarely do anything twice with my coach. But with my old coach, Brent St. Pierre, before my current coach, Geoff Brown, my least favorite set was a 200 best odd drop out set that lasted about an hour.

Where are you interested in attending college? Do you have any official visits planned?
I am still a junior at Deep Run High School. However, I do know that I will be taking official visits to University if Arizona and University of Texas, but I don't know what others I will be taking yet.

What is your favorite swimming related memory?
My favorite swimming-related memory is I was 14 at NCSA Junior Nationals in Orlando, FL and I dropped a lot of time in the morning in 400 IM and was coming back seeded 1st for finals. Finals were in long course and I ended up dropping 9 seconds, getting 4th place (1st-4th were all within 1 second of each other), and gaining my trials cut. I remember finishing, looking to the clock, then looking behind my lane and seeing my whole team there cheering and yelling for me.

Who do you look up to in the world of swimming?
Rebecca Soni

What do you consider to be your breakthrough moment in swimming?
2004 JO's, when I was 10 years old, I won every event I swam but one. I think that was my breakthrough moment

What is your daily schedule?
Monday through Friday I have morning practice from 4:30 to 6:30 am before school, then I must go to a second practice twice a week 4:30 to 6:30 pm after school, then on Saturday I have practice from 5:30 to 8 am and weights with our team trainer afterwards for 45 minutes. Also, I have weights on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:45 to 7:30 with our team's trainer.

What are your short and long-term goals?
Short-term goals: win an event at USA Summer Junior Nationals. Long-term: I would like get my "A" cuts for NCAAs in my 4 best events (400 IM, 200 IM, 200 Breaststroke, and 100 Breaststroke) and to final in the USA Olympic Trials in either 2012 or 2016

What is something that people wouldn't know about you?
I started swimming when I was 5, but I started dancing when I was 4, so when I was 10 I had to decide between dance and swimming and it took me a very long time to decide but of course I chose swimming in the end.

What do you want to study at college?
At this point, honestly, I still have no idea but I have been thinking about maybe something along the lines of pharmacy or optometry (my father is an optometrist)

What other sports did you do before you picked swimming?
Soccer, basketball, cheerleading, and dance.

What is you favorite food?
I love mashed potatoes!

What is your favorite movie?
There are so many!: Juno, I am Legend, Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, I could go on and on…

What keeps you motivated in the pool?
My teammates. My friends and my teammates are always at practice and always working their hardest. They keep me motivated because when they work hard it makes me work hard. Also we all help each other in practice by racing with each other and keeping each other in good spirits when we have a tough practice

What have you gotten out of swimming?
I believe I have gotten very much out of swimming so far, it has made me a more responsible, confident, self-disciplined individual and taught me how to have/ give the proper respect to everybody and myself.

Do you consider yourself a role model?
I do consider myself a role model, not only for younger swimmers but also for younger kids in general. I hope that my actions are good and well respected enough for me to be a role model for others.

How did your injury affect you when you weren't able to go to Ireland?
As soon as I fell (playing basketball) I immediately started crying, not because of the pain, even though it hurt, but because the first thing that popped into my head was "I'm not going to be able to go to Ireland." I tried not to let it get to me the best I could. It was a huge disappointment but I tried to keep my head held high and knew that it wasn't the end of the world and that I would have many more opportunities and meets coming my way.

How can you use your injury as motivation to go forward?
I will use my injury as motivation during practice, knowing that the few days I missed out of the water and all the time that I couldn't do much in practice will make me work harder in practice to get to where I know I need to be and to make me work harder for the times I want and the places I want to get 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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