Meet the Freshmen: Suzanne Schwee
10/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Oct. 14, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Talk about a fast start! Just two meets into her Alabama career and freshman Suzanne Schwee has already grabbed a place on the Crimson Tide's all-time top-10 list in the 200 butterfly. She's also won three individual races, including two in her first meet in an Alabama suit.
"I really didn't expect it," Schwee said of her quick start. "With the 200 fly, I was a little surprised, but I guess with the practices, I'm improving, because that's a really good in-season time for me."
Needless to say, with results like that, it has been a very smooth transition from high school and club swimming to Alabama, with one small hitch.
"I never did mornings (pre-dawn workouts) before I got here," Schwee said. "I'm not a morning person, so that's been the hardest thing to get use to."
And while early mornings at the Alabama Aquatic Center have been a challenge, she has enjoyed getting to know all her new teammates, something that was next to impossible to do with her club team.
"Curl Burke is such a big team, it had nine sites I think, so I didn't know everyone," Schwee said. "So here I get to know everyone on the team."
Schwee swam for John Flanagan at Curl Burke, where she set a US Junior National Record as part of Curl Burke's 400 medley relay. She was also a five-time Virginia State Champion swimming for Jenifer House at Stone Bridge High School.
The Ashburn, Va. native also enjoys the high intensity practices where she is surrounded by athletes that push her every trip down the pool.
"Everyone is so fast here," she said. "It's so great practicing with high level athletes; it definitely pushes you to be better every day. One of the biggest differences here are the workouts. I was use to high yardage with long rest back home, while here everything is short rest, so it's more intense."
A former gymnast and competitive cheerleader, Schwee said swimming has always come naturally to her, something she probably inherited from her mother, Laura, who was the 1982 NCAA Division III 200 backstroke champion for Frostburg State.
"She loved her college experience and everything with swimming," Schwee said of her mother. "She likes to keep (her championship) a secret. She's really humble about it. But she loved college and she really wanted me to swim."
After taking an introductory course in Alabama's Restaurant and Hospitality Management major, Schwee is focusing in on that as a major, which ties into her favorite spot on campus so far in her brief Alabama tenure.
"I really like Bryant Hall," Schwee said of the Tide's Student-Athlete Services complex which includes a dining hall. "The food's really good there."
Players Mentioned
