This past month Swimming World announced and started the first of their College Friday Takeovers.
The series started with Georgia Tech junior and Brazil native Caio Pumputis.
“It was a great opportunity to show a little bit of Georgia Tech practices!” said Pumputis. “And besides that we had so much fun with Swimming World Magazine instagram!”
The following week the Big 10 took over for the ACC with Michigan junior Luis Gustavo Borges, a native of Brazil as well.
“Doing the Swimming World Magazine takeover was really fun,” said Borges. “As soon as the boys heard about it they were all crazy to get on the stories to show everyone what Michigan is all about. A freshman even came up to me and said: ‘you’re gonna want to put these on the stories’ and proceeded to rip a max on the decline bench press. Things like that and days like the takeover are our everyday, and it was super cool to be the one to give swimming fans a glimpse of Michigan.”
The ACC returned the following week with junior Josh Wroblewski of the UConn Huskies.
“Taking over the Swimming World Instagram was both a pleasure and an honor!” said Wroblewski. “It was a great experience to show what it is like to swim at The University of Connecticut!”
UConn Huskies team after drylands workouts during the UConn College Takeover Friday on Nov. 15 Photo Courtesy: Josh Wroblewski
Rounding out the month before the holidays was LSU with senior Lewis Clough providing another international perspective.
“It was a great experience for me,” said Clough. “It’s always fun to show the team atmosphere that we have at LSU and Swimming World Magazine was a great platform to get that message across. It certainly made the travel day a little more interesting!”
LSU Swimmers at SMU during the LSU College Takeover Friday on Nov. 22 Photo Courtesy: Lewis Clough
Looking Ahead
In December, the diversity of the teams continues with strong female representation. Starting off the first week of the month is senior captain Kendall Brent of the Yale Bulldogs. Brent will be our first Ivy League swimmer to takeover the account.
Following Brent is Abby Miller, a senior from the University of Southern California representing the first of the PAC-12. After Miller, the takeover heads back to the east cast with sophomore Claire Russell of Bryant University.
Looking into the new year, junior Michaela Sliney of Louisville will make waves as our first diver to takeover the account. Additionally, senior Serena Xue from the University of Pennsylvania and senior Kyle Swardenski from the University of Hawaii are on the calendar for the first month of the new decade.
As previously mentioned, the University of Georgia, University of Missouri, Providence, and Texas A&M have also shown interest as well. These teams are slated for a takeover in 2020.
For college athletes or coaches from aquatics teams interested in doing a takeover, please send an email to ashleighs@swimmingworld.com. Please include your school name, sport, and the names of athlete(s) who wish to participate.