{"id":5591,"date":"2013-02-25T11:28:15","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T15:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=5591"},"modified":"2013-02-25T11:28:15","modified_gmt":"2013-02-25T15:28:15","slug":"swimming-in-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming in Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

When top Division I schools courted Alex Anderson \u201915<\/strong> for a swim scholarship in 2006, the high school senior wasn\u2019t ready.<\/p>\n

Recruiters for such schools as Alabama, Arizona and Indiana universities saw a record-setting competitor who took two state titles in the 500-yard freestyle. Anderson saw a commitment to academics he wasn\u2019t ready to make. He turned his back on school, and for a few years he lost his way – and his sport.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alex Anderson ’15 is the fourth athlete in UMW history to break an NCAA record.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seven years later he\u2019s making a name for himself as a UMW student-athlete on the Eagles swim team. In February, the sophomore was named Capital Athletic Conference Swimmer of the Year at a meet in which he broke four individual school and conference records and swam in four record-breaking relays. On March 21, he broke the NCAA Division III record<\/a> in the 400-yard individual medley at the NCAA Division III Championships in Texas. He became the fourth individual in UMW history to break an NCAA record. He,narrowly missing a second national title when finished second in the 200-yard butterfly.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the water helped Anderson get his life on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cSwimming turned into a therapeutic sport for me,\u201d said Anderson, who studies chemistry at Mary Washington. \u201cBy this I mean every time I jump in the pool I let all my troubles and worries float away. It seems like such a natural thing for me, like something I was born to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

After high school in Vienna, Va., Anderson enrolled at Northern Virginia Community College, NOVA, but he wasn\u2019t interested in school. He often didn\u2019t show up for classes, and his grades stayed low. His mother lost a battle with breast cancer in the summer of 2007, and soon after he moved out of his father\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

Over the next two years, Anderson shared an apartment with roommates and worked low-wage jobs to pay the bills. He was a waiter, a cashier, a cook and a carpenter\u2019s apprentice. He managed a company that tended potted plants in offices and supermarkets.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Anderson earned All-American honors in 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It wasn\u2019t the life he wanted. He realized he was squandering his talent and an opportunity for something better.<\/p>\n

He talked to his father, and they formed a plan. Anderson would get serious – go back to school, bring up his grades and get back in the pool. The son moved back in with his dad, joined a club team and trained to get back in shape for competition.<\/p>\n

Back at NOVA in spring 2010, Anderson retook several courses and signed up for something new – biology. The science class was his favorite, and he aced it. After that, he earned only A\u2019s – grades that could get him into a four-year college.<\/p>\n

With new confidence in his academic ability, he no longer wanted only to swim. He decided on a Division III school that would allow him the flexibility to develop his sport and his brain. The science program at University of Mary Washington had a great reputation, and it was close to home. He went for it.<\/p>\n

Anderson talked to Eagles swim coach Abby Brethauer, was admitted by the university, and enrolled for classes in August 2011.<\/p>\n

When he is in the lane with rivals, he changes from the carefree swimmer in training.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI bring a different attitude to my racing and competitive swimming,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cI love to race. I can get competitive. I just want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson and Eagles swimming were a great fit from the start. His first season, he was one of the fastest swimmers, leading the men\u2019s team to its 12th consecutive CAC title.<\/p>\n

In his first NCAA Championship last year, he gained All-America status in the 400-yard individual medley with a ninth-place finish, easily winning the consolation final.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlex has the potential not only to be the most successful swimmer in the history of UMW swimming, but also to turn what have until this point only been program goals into realities,\u201d Brethauer said. \u201cNot only is he a talented swimmer, he is also one of our top students – and he\u2019s a great teammate. He is a wonderful example of what it means to be a Mary Washington student-athlete. He represents both our team and the entire department with aplomb.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Anderson started back to swimming, he scrutinized how he had trained, his stroke, his performance and found new ways to better old race times. He fell in love with chemistry for the challenge, too, he said. And his first quiz back with a low score, he used the same skills he uses in the pool.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at what I\u2019ve done and how I can do better. I change it. Since [that quiz], I\u2019ve tried 10 different types of study skills,\u201d he said. \u201cThe biggest tool for success is to be willing to try new things and be able to change. You have to look back at what you\u2019ve done to do that. Otherwise you might change for the worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

–<\/em> To learn more about the 2013 NCAA Division III Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s Swimming and Diving Championships, March 20-23 in Shenandoah, Texas, check out www.ncaa.com\/championships\/swimming-men\/d3<\/a> or umweagles.com\/sports\/swimdive\/index<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alex Anderson ’15 breaks the national record at the NCAA Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":5661,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSwimming in Success - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"coften\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"coften\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff\"},\"headline\":\"Swimming in Success\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-25T15:28:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":904,\"commentCount\":3,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming in Success - Great Minds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-02-25T15:28:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg\",\"width\":3997,\"height\":1909,\"caption\":\"Alex Anderson '15 is headed to the NCAA Championships in March.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2013\\\/02\\\/25\\\/swimming-in-success\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Swimming in Success\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/\",\"name\":\"Great Minds\",\"description\":\"University of Mary Washington\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff\",\"name\":\"coften\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"coften\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/author\\\/coften\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Swimming in Success - Great Minds","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"coften","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/"},"author":{"name":"coften","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/#\/schema\/person\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff"},"headline":"Swimming in Success","datePublished":"2013-02-25T15:28:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/"},"wordCount":904,"commentCount":3,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/02\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg","articleSection":["Show on Great Minds"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/","name":"Swimming in Success - Great Minds","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/02\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg","datePublished":"2013-02-25T15:28:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/#\/schema\/person\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/02\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/02\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg","width":3997,"height":1909,"caption":"Alex Anderson '15 is headed to the NCAA Championships in March."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2013\/02\/25\/swimming-in-success\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Swimming in Success"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/","name":"Great Minds","description":"University of Mary Washington","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/#\/schema\/person\/143d6c32cbda512f058857eb97ef24ff","name":"coften","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"coften"},"url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/author\/coften\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2013\/02\/UnderwaterSwim5.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}