Catherine Rippel '25 Recruiting Profile

Before I could speak, I knew I was meant to be in the water, and my mom knew, too, so we took classes when I was just a few months old to learn to survive and swim in the water. The water survival lessons quickly became practices at another swim school, Emler, and there, at Emler, I learned all four strokes. My love for the water and swimming grew; the feeling of flying through the air during a start and racing to finish first motivated me to go to every practice and work harder than everyone else to be the best. Among other things, swimming has taught me how to push myself in the best ways, both athletically and academically. I have learned to wake up early for swim practices at 6 am and to stay happy all day even though I might be exhausted from the double practices and the homework. Although swimming seems like an individual sport, it is not, and relays are where I shine; they inspire me to swim faster for my team and win. I am incredibly grateful and excited to be given the opportunity to continue my swimming career in college and make the little girl I remember who couldn't stay out of the water beyond proud.