Despite popular belief, competitive swimming does have a large team aspect due to team relays and a heavy reliance on support from teammates. For the most part, though, swimmers must depend on themselves for their success.
For sophomore Erin Fife, success came with adversity in the 2015-2016 Raider swimming season. Fife faced a battle with injury while also having to keep in top shape to be able to compete at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship (PSAC).
The West Chester native has been swimming competitively since she was 5 years old, setting personal goals for herself both as a swimmer and as a teammate. After a successful high school swimming career, Fife continued her success at Shippensburg University, posting records in the butterfly events as an incoming freshman.
Unfortunately, she had to put her title hopes on the back-burner as sickness held her back during her first year as a Raider. Determined to make a comeback in the 2015-2016 season, Fife was faced yet again with another obstacle.
“Unfortunately, at the start of this swim season I was out for a while due to shoulder pain,” said Fife of her physical challenges. “It was really frustrating and I didn’t think it was going to get better in time for our championship meet.It just felt like I couldn’t catch a break.”
Thankfully, Fife caught her break at exactly the right time. Fife was able to qualify for finals in the 100-yard butterfly, which is one of her specialty events.
“Going into finals I knew it was going to be a close race because the times were so close in the morning,” Fife said. “My expectations going into finals were to just improve my time and have fun.”
Fife entered finals seeded fifth and finished strong with a time of 57.66 seconds, snagging the coveted PSAC title in the 100-yard butterfly event. It was not only Fife’s first title win, but also SU’s first PSAC Championship title since 2013.
“Swimming is a really tough sport that takes a lot of dedication and commitment and it isn’t for everyone,” Fife said.
“It is nice to be on a team and have people who understand and can relate to everything you are going through...I can always rely on them to help me stay focused and to pick me up when I fall down.”
Fife’s career is far from over with two more years left to compete.
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