It was an exciting week for the men’s swim team. The Jays travelled to Shenandoah, Texas for the NCAA Championships. The long four days of competition were filled with a number of record-breaking performances, close standings and even tighter races. However, the Jays made it onto the podium, placing fourth just behind the Emory University Eagles, the Kenyon College Lords and the Denison University Big Red.
Despite the excitement, for many, the weekend was bittersweet. For seniors Jeremy Bauchwitz, Evan Holder, Andy Greenhalgh and Scott Sterrett, the NCAAs were their last chance to compete for the Blue Jays. The senior class, who hold a total of 41 All-American honors combined, will be dearly missed by the program next year.
Though The News-Letter would certainly like to commend all four of these dedicated seniors, this week, Andy Greenhalgh has been selected as the Athlete of the Week.
Greenhalgh’s career at Hopkins has been a success to say the least. A two-time NCAA champion in the 500 Free, claiming the title in 2015 and 2016 and an individual NCAA Championship title in the 1650 Free in 2016, Greenhalgh went into this year’s championship with a multitude of records. Greenhalgh owns the 10 fastest times in the 1650 Free and nine of the 10 fastest times in the 500 Free in the University program’s history.
This weekend he continued to add to this long list of accomplishments with second place finishes in the 500 Free and 1650 Free, an NCAA record in the 500 Free and a school record in the 1650 Free. By Saturday, Greenhalgh’s Hopkins swimming career was over, but his legacy remains. Greenhalgh retires his collegiate career with 12 All-American honors, three NCAA individual championship titles, six NCAA runner-up finishes and a single bronze medal.
Greenhalgh was kind enough to sit down with The News-Letter to comment on his performance this past weekend and reflect on some memories he gathered throughout his career.
The News-Letter: What type of preparation did the team do in the weeks leading up to the NCAA Championships? Was the team happy with the fourth place finish?
Andy Greenhalgh: About three weeks out from NCAAs, we began to drop yardage and intensity in our workouts and worked more on starts, turns and breakouts. The idea behind this all is to rest the body after a hard year of training and to sharpen your skills in preparation for the race. Overall, we are pretty satisfied with our finish at NCAAs. Through the first three days at the meet, we had sat in third place ahead of Denison, the defending National Champions. While we eventually dropped to fourth, it was pretty exciting, especially for our seniors, to be able to finish on the podium one last time.
N-L: How hard is it to balance nerves going into such an important meet?
AG: Arguably the most important part of swimming is how you manage yourself mentally. I have struggled in the past balancing the nerves and excitement of big meets, and that has cost me. It is easier to balance nerves at NCAAs though, because you have your team there to back you up and support you the whole way through.
N-L: How happy were you with the second place finishes in the 500 Free and 1650 Free?
AG: I am relatively pleased with how I swam. I cannot complain with best times in both events and breaking 4:20 in the 500, a goal I have worked towards for two years now. As the defending champion in both events, it was a bit unsatisfying to walk away without the individual title, but I put everything I had into both races, and at the end of the day, that is all I can ask for.
N-L: What is your favorite event to swim and why?
AG: At the NCAAs, I have always loved being on the 800 Freestyle relay. We have a really strong tradition of 200 Freestylers at Hopkins, so the 800 Free relay has been our bread and butter, as we won it in both 2013 and 2014 and currently hold the NCAA record in the event. To be put on that relay is a tremendous honor, and people always step up and do something spectacular on it. It never ceases to be a great race.
N-L: Looking back on your college career, is there any one race that stands out as most memorable or one that you are most proud of?
AG: I think my most memorable race was at NCAAs in 2015 when I won the 500 and broke the national record in the event because the swim exceeded my expectation and what I thought was possible in the moment, it really helped set the tone for how I approached the 500 and shorter distance races in the following two years.
N-L: What will you miss most about the Hopkins swimming team?
AG: The most important thing to me about Hopkins swimming is the camaraderie. The connections I have formed over the last four years are unparalleled to any I have ever had, or any I will have. I have especially loved swimming for and being a part of something bigger than myself, and representing my institution with pride.
