Photo Editor/Emily Rowan
Betsy Czarkowski is a freshman on the swim team this year and she is already making a big impact as a Cavalier.
Czarkowski was encouraged by her parents to try swimming competitively and it wound up growing on her.
“I love everything about it [swimming] from meeting new friends, having different coaches, to all the different events and putting it all together it’s my stress reliever,” Czarkowski said. “I don’t know what I would do without it, it’s a piece of me.”
Czarkowski started swimming about eight years ago on her local club team and grew to love everything about the sport. For her, choosing to swim in college was almost a no-brainer. When visiting Cabrini during her senior year of high school, she felt that the swim team would be a great fit for her.
Being a freshman and getting involved in any college sport can be very challenging for many but Czarkowski is doing her very best to make it work.
“It’s not easy but I know that I have to keep on top of my homework in order to swim on the team,” Czarkowski said.
Czarkowski’s specialty is distance swimming. She currently swims 500 yards and is working her way up to 1,000 yards. Her best time so far as a Cavalier is six minutes and 47 seconds for 500 yards.
The team practices vigorously and there are not many days where Czarkowski does not get into the pool.
“Thursdays, I have morning swim practice, then lifting, then classes and then afternoon swim practice,” Czarkowski said. “It’s a lot in just one day.”
On days when Czarkowski does not feel like waking up early to go to practice she reminds herself that her hard work will pay off in the end and slacking is not an option.
In her free time Czarkowski enjoys spending time with friends.
Marissa Loro, Czarkowski’s teammate and roommate, says Betsy is always encouraging and cheering on her team.
“Her best personality trait is her happiness and her smile is infectious,” Loro said. “She loves to laugh and to make others laugh, she is a great friend.”
Sarah Wagner, junior swimmer, agrees with Loro.
“Betsy is a very happy, positive influence on our team,” Wagner said. “Betsy is always willing to help when needed.”
The swim team could not be happier to have her as a teammate. Her friends and coaches agree that she has been a great addition to the swim team this year.
“I think Betsy is both an asset athletically and personally,” Cindy Ikeler, the head men and women’s swim coach said. “She is a very versatile swimmer.”
“She can swim all four stokes very respectively and we can use her in a lot of different events,” Ikeler said.
Ikeler is impressed with how willing Czarkowski is to learn and grow. Ikeler has already seeing improvements in her swimmer but she also has no doubt that Czarkowski will improve even more over the season.
“I know that if she keeps applying the things we have been working on [during practices] by the end of the season she will be swimming faster than she has ever swam before,” Ikeler said.
Ikeler has been impressed with Czarkowski’s enthusiasm for the sport.
“Sometimes by the time kids come to college they can be a little tired of their sport which is sad but Betsy is definitely not that way,” Ikeler said. “She is still excited and passionate about swimming.”
Czarkowski hopes that students on campus can get excited about the sport too. She would love to see Cabrini students get more involved in supporting the swim team.
“Come support the swim team,” Czarkowski said. “We are here and we are unique.”
