By Luke McGuire, Swimming World College Intern
Morgan Richter, now a junior for Goucher Swimming, barely knew where he was going to college, let alone where his twin brother, Colin, would be spending his next four years. He hoped that wherever they went, they would be together. But when it came time to make a decision, both hesitated.
Morgan explained that in the final few days, he said, “Colin, I’m going to Goucher. I don’t care what you say, I’m going to Goucher. And by saying that I was going to Goucher, at that point I knew I was going to go wherever Colin was going, but…I wanted to force his hand a little bit.”
The plan worked, as both twins soon committed to swim at Goucher College in Towson, Maryland.
Swimming has always been a family affair for the Richters. Their mother, one of 15 siblings, spent her childhood at the local swimming pool, and passed the tradition on to her sons. Morgan and Colin have an older brother, three step-brothers, and an adopted sister, and swimming has brought the family even closer. Although they played other sports growing up, they were always drawn back to the pool in the summer, and eventually decided to commit to swimming.
The two brothers are from Cleburne, Texas—a long way from Goucher’s campus in Maryland. Colin explained that while he was heavily recruited by Coach Tom Till, his twin brother didn’t get any emails or phone calls from Goucher.
“My mom was talking to Coach Till one day and said, ‘I know you’re interested in Colin, but why not Morgan as well?’ He said, ‘What? There’s another one?’ That’s when I started receiving all of the emails, too,” Morgan related, chuckling.
Both brothers visited the campus in the spring and were struck by its beauty.
“Everything was blossoming, and being from Texas, I wasn’t used to seeing anything green,” Morgan said.
In talking about their college selection process, the brothers said that the idea of splitting up was something they had never seriously considered, but they did not make it the top priority in their search. At Goucher, they both found what they were looking for.
Colin and Morgan view their personalities as a “yin and yang,” with Morgan describing Colin as “calm and collected,” and Colin describing Morgan as “talkative and outgoing.” Like many brothers, they’re competitive. Oh boy, are they competitive.
“We constantly want to be better than each other, and that is why you will never see us swimming the same races,” Morgan said.
The butterfly and distance free events are Morgan’s, and the backstroke and individual medleys are Colin’s. In practice, they’re okay with losing some sets to their teammates, but never to one another.
The bond that twin brothers share goes beyond even the bond between teammates. Morgan and Colin are always supportive of one another. Before each brother’s race, the two share a handshake. Colin, the self-described “serious one,” will often calm Morgan’s nerves before races. Morgan likes to bring a few jokes to tell Colin before big races to lighten the mood.
“He loves those cheesy jokes, but he won’t admit it,” Morgan confided.
Every year that the Richters have been on the team, the Goucher men have improved. This season, the team is 6-2, and defeated conference rival Scranton for the first time in program history.
Last season, Morgan claimed the conference titles in both the 100 and 200 butterfly (his second title in the 200 fly), while Colin placed fourth and fifth in the backstrokes. But the twins were quick to emphasize that what they are most proud of is the tradition of sportsmanship that they’re helping to create at Goucher.
The Richter story is far from unique in the Landmark Conference.
In fact, most of the conference’s nine teams have rostered at least two siblings in the last few years. Sisters Krista (Fr.) and Alyssa Peachey (Sr.) currently compete for Juniata College; in fact, the Peachey family makes up almost a fifth of Juniata’s roster.
Last season, brothers Andrew and John Terselic competed for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and brothers Caleb and Josh Capozella competed for the Catholic University of America. The previous year, sisters Devin and Kelsey Lessard swam for Susquehanna University.
Morgan and Colin know that someday they’ll have to split up. With grad school looming for both juniors—Colin’s a business and economics double-major, while Morgan’s a history major with a concentration in pre-law—and likely to take them in separate directions, they’re making the most of their time together at Goucher.
This season, the Richters own top-five times in the conference in nine out of fourteen events. Individually, both are multi-event threats, and together, they’re nearly unstoppable. Goucher’s twin Texans have been a force in and out of the pool, bringing a strong sense of family to the Landmark Conference.
Luke McGuire is a junior IM/breaststroker at the Catholic University of America. Prior to joining CUA, McGuire trained with the Devon Manor Swim Team as well as the Lower Paxton Aquatic Club.