SW Contributor - (Author)

What is the Toughest Race in Swimming? By Kate Santilena Whether you are a sprinter, stroke specialist or distance swimmer, we all have that one race that just gives us the chills when our coach signs us up for it at a meet. Throughout warmup, when our friends and teammates ask: “Hey what events are...

5 Things That Rub Swimmers The Wrong Way (Other Than Suits) By Kate Santilena BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! The alarm goes off again for another 5:30 a.m. practice. It’s still dark outside. As swimmers, we rise before the sun. Morning practices are rough, but the one thing that every swimmer dreads more than ro...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. Whether you are a well-known extrovert and can make a whole crowd of your friends laugh hysterically or you are more of an introvert and like that precious alone time, recruiting calls can be some nerve-racking experiences. To help with those nerves,...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. As adamant swimming advocates and with today’s social media craze, we are always searching for those perfect photos that show off our unique sport of swimming at its finest. However, unless we know a thing or two about cameras, we are not too sure ex...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. We are back in Minneapolis with the 2019 Mountain West Conference Championship’s final night of competition. Tonight we have seen many tight races for the top 3 podium spots. In the end, the San Diego State University Aztecs took home the 2019 Mounta...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. Night 3 of the 2019 Mountain West Conference Championships turned out to be an exciting night full of many tight races, a few upsets and the San Diego State Aztecs capturing multiple top 3 spots to take over the lead for the Mountain West Conference ...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. We kicked off day two of the 2019 Mountain West Conference Championship with the first day of the individual events. Thursday night’s events consisted of the women’s 500 free, women’s 200 individual medley, women’s 50 free, women’s 3-meter diving and...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. We are starting off this years 2019 Mountain West Conference Championship with Wednesday night relays at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center located in chilly Minneapolis. Tonight’s events consisted of the women’s 200 medley relay, the women’s...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. “VACATION TIME! FINALLY! Oh wait…will I get out of shape after missing so many practices?” This is a common question that all swimmers ask themselves before they take a break from their daily training environment. As swimmers, we develop this crazy i...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. Imagine swimming without staring down a black line on the bottom of the pool for hours on end and obstacles are constantly fighting against you, such as a powerful ocean current or repeated collisions with a competitor, and races that last grueling l...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. College swimming has a lot of similarities among the different schools across the nation. However, one thing that varies from university to university is if that school has a combined men’s and women’s team or not. University swim teams can have one ...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. Junior year of high school is halfway over! Wait, what? It's time to start looking into colleges! Choosing a college to attend can cause some serious stress. There are so many places to go - how do we know which one to attend? How do we know if they...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. You're rolling through the daily routine, putting hours in the pool, working day in and day out alongside your team with the only worry being, “Hopefully I don’t oversleep during my after-practice nap and am late to class." Out of nowhere, you hear a...

By Kate Santilena, College Swimming Intern. Staying up late with your computer screen blazing, displaying the recent study guide for your final exam that's worth way too much of your grade with morning practice only a few hours away can be all too familiar. As student-athletes, we have all been ther...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. The sport of swimming does not come without its challenges. As swimmers, we face setbacks, plateaus, and disappointments all throughout our careers. The tricky but crucial component to longevity in the sport is how we bounce back from these difficult...

By Kate Santilena, Swimming World College Intern. As competitive swimmers, we come across, compete against, train with and befriend many fellow athletes from across the globe. Swimming is a worldwide sport shared among many nations, and a few athletes choose to attend universities in the United Stat...

By Kate Santilena, Swim World College Intern. From Germany to the Hawaiian Islands Searching for a way to continue her swimming career while at the same time gaining an education, Franziska Weidner looked to leave her home country of Germany to attend school in the United States. She felt a personal...