Freshman swimmer Emily Ross was named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year for her performance during the 2016-2017 season.

Ross said it is nice to show others what she has been improving upon  and how it translated to tangible success in her first year as a Laker.

“It feels really good to know that all of my hard work has paid off and to have people notice that I’ve been working hard for a long time,” Ross said.

At the 2017 SUNYAC Championships meet, Ross finished fourth in the 400-yard individual medley, fifth in the 1650-yard freestyle and sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke. The Oswego State women’s swimming and diving finished sixth out of nine teams at the conference championship meet. Ross said those events are the ones she would enjoy doing the most.

“There were a couple other events I was going to look at, but wasn’t going to place as well at, so I picked these instead,” Ross said.

Ross also enjoys participating in relay events and said those are more exciting because she gets to cheer on everyone else in the relay. She said it is less pressure because she gets to participate with her teammates.

“Individual [swimming] you have to rely on yourself more,” Ross said. “It’s more pressure, but in the end if you don’t do well, it’s your fault. If you do well, you did it.”

Ross grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and began swimming when her dad taught her how to swim at a young age. She has been swimming competitively for 13 years.

After deciding she wanted to major in zoology, Ross looked at colleges out of state and ultimately decided to attend Oswego State. There are no zoology programs in the state of Delaware, according to Ross.

The swim team was a key factor in why Ross ended up at Oswego. She said when she visited, the team made her feel welcome and comfortable. 

“Other schools seemed to be fake happy,” Ross said. “[At Oswego] it seemed like people didn’t genuinely mind being here.”

Ross said she likes having a group of people at Oswego. Ross said that outside of swimming, she is shy and swimming has given her a good group of friends to hang out with outside of practice.

Michael Holman, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach, said Ross is a very well-rounded swimmer.

“She basically really can swim almost anything,” Holman said. “Coming in, I really wasn’t sure what events she was going to end up doing.”

When Ross first joined the team, Holman said they started her off to fill a hole in a breast stroke role because it was needed. Once Ross began swimming other events, Holman realized she was good at other strokes as well.

Holman said he reaches out to between 4,000 and 5,000 kids in each recruiting class. Holman said Oswego State was a good match for Ross.

“We’re one of the few schools that have a good program for [zoology] and swimming,” Holman said. “From my standpoint, as a swimmer she fit the mold of what we needed to be better. She was the kind of kid I knew wasn’t going to be a problem.”

During this past year, Ross only missed one swimming practice because she was sick.

“I actually showed up and [Holman] told me to go home,” Ross said. “I didn’t feel like I could miss so I showed up and [Holman] told me to go to Mary Walker.”

Ross is a hard worker with a good work ethic, Holman said.

“[Ross] worked hard, when she was in a race she raced hard,” Holman said. “I can’t really ask for much more than that.”

Holman said it is hard to know how some students are going to compete, whether it be letting nerves effect their performance or if they will step up to the occasion. Ross was a swimmer that stepped up, Holman said.

Ross said she has improved her times in her events throughout the year for the first time in a while. She said swimming in college has helped her improve because she trains for the events she is good at, as opposed to all events.

“In club swimming they would try to make sure you were good at everything,” Ross said. “When you come here you focused more on what you were good at.”

Holman said the goal for each swimmer is to improve individually. If each swimmer improves individually, then the team will progressively get better. Holman said Ross is a hard worker and still has a lot of room to grow.

“[Swimming] is a team sport,” Holman said. “We are trying to win and we are trying to place a certain spot, but at the end of the day it is also very individual.”

Holman said he thinks Ross is in range of some records and would like to see her get the 400-yard individual medley record.

Ross has three more years on the team and said her end goal is to still love swimming when she leaves Oswego State.

“So many swimmers will burn out throughout the years,” Ross said. “I just want to still like it and not be disappointed in myself. I want to feel accomplished.”