A good work ethic, compliance and a little bit of natural talent is a combination that will lead to success in any field. For Riley Synan, that field is the swimming pool, where she has been named SUNYAC swimmer of the week multiple times this season.

Synan was humbled to be recognized among the number of talented swimmers in the conference.

“It felt pretty nice, especially because it’s the whole conference, and there are a ton of really fast swimmers in the conference,” Synan said.

Part of what has made Synan so successful this season has been her continued dedication to improve any way she can.

“In past years I have worked hard,” Synan said. “This year, I have worked extra to try to work on the little things, like my underwaters.”

Synan’s head coach, Mike Holman, has taken notice of the hard work she has put in.

“Riley has been an important part of our team since she got here,” Holman said. “She was a big recruit for us, and she’s improved quite a bit since she’s been here.”

Not only has Synan enjoyed an improved performance this season, but the team has also gotten better as a whole, going from just 5-5 last year to a 7-2 this year. When asked what differences she has noticed that have led to the team’s success this season, Synan credited to an overall improvement in team morale.

“We have had some really close meets this year,” Synan said. “Like against Oneonta, we beat them and last year we didn’t do that, we did that against Brockport. So I guess it’s just more team bonding. Everyone was like really excited and cheering on the deck and stuff and everyone else is working really hard too.”

Holman added that Synan has had a major impact on the team’s overall success this season, and it starts during practice.

“[Synan] is definitely a hard worker,” Holman said. “She also is someone that kind of for me as a coach you know in all fairness we are basing a lot of her group’s practices on her because she is kind of, on the women’s side, at the top of her group.”

Holman also put emphasis on Synan’s work ethic and coachability.

“She has probably one of the top work ethics on the team and you know she’s just pretty tough overall,” Holman said. “She handles what we give her, she does it. She just takes everything that’s given to her.”

When asked how long she has been swimming and when she decided to pursue the sport in college, Synan felt it was always something she wanted to do.

“I was eight I think and I kind of always wanted to because I wanted to do something extra in college and like stay fit and stuff, so I always wanted to do it,” Synan said. “When I was a senior in high school I joined the club team so that made me like even more dedicated to the sport.”

Synan is from Massachusetts, so when it came to choosing Oswego State for college, much of the influence came from her father.

“My dad actually went to [SUNY] Fredonia and he was like the SUNY’s are really good you will want to check them out,” Synan said. “So I looked here, and Oswego [State] had really good out of state scholarships. Coach was recruiting me a lot so there was a lot of emails back and forth so I came here and I really love the team.”  

Photo provided by Sports Information via Jim McGregor