Committing to play a sport at the collegiate level is a huge accomplishment that deserves to be recognized.  To showcase this achievement, Samantha Philipp sits down with the student athletes at Norwalk High who have committed to hear their story.

Competitive swimmer Andie Daignault had found her new home for the next four years!  Andie is a senior at Norwalk High School and swims for Weston Swimming! She has just recently committed to continue her swimming career at Division 1 University of San Diego (USD) next fall! 

Q:  How long have you been swimming competitively?

“I have been a competitive swimmer for 13 years.” 

Q: Why did you choose the University of San Diego? 

“I chose USD for their multiple academic and athletic opportunities.  I was looking for a chance to gain more independence but still feel like I was at home.”  USD did just that for Andie by having “small class sizes and a close knit community.”  Yet the decision for the right school all came down to one thing, with Andie saying “ I truly felt like USD was the right school when I met the team.  They were truly a big family and even spending just a few days with all the girls I felt like I was a part of that family.  With the amazing opportunity to study my chosen major and swim Division 1, I knew USD was the right school for me.”

Q: What was your recruitment process like? 

“My recruitment process was definitely long and stressful but more importantly it was very informative.  I started my recruitment process at the start of my junior year and looked at colleges all over the country.” For Andie, the next step in her recruiting process was communicating with coaches explaining how,  “After the emails from coaches came the numerous phone calls followed and although my first recruitment call was very nerve racking, it really wasn’t anything that bad.  After that it was just repeating the same process with each coach, having check-up calls throughout the year.  I then set up visits and shortened my lists of schools down, ultimately choosing USD.” 

Q: What advice do you have for athletes who want to compete at the next level?

“My advice for athletes looking to compete at the next level is to continue preserving.  Preparing to compete at a collegiate level takes a lot of time and dedication.  If you truly want to compete at the next level, the only person that can stop you is yourself.”