In addition to learning to manage her workload with an intensive swimming schedule, freshman Jackie Iglesias has coped with friendly competition with her roommate, a fellow record-breaking swimmer.
Iglesias, majoring in exercise science/pre-physical therapy, made swimming a part of her life years ago, receiving inspiration from her older sister.
"My sister started swimming when she was eight and I was six. She swam that year and I thought it was the coolest thing ever and so I started the next year when I was seven and I've been swimming ever since. It's been like twelve years," she said.
Swimming for club and school teams throughout her elementary, middle school and high school years, Iglesias was scouted by Ball State through a fellow swimmer's suggestion.
"It's kind of a funny story. I actually swam on the club team with one of the swimmers who swam here, and he's really good friends with the coach's son," she said. "[Coach Laura Seibold-Caudill] was talking about recruiting and he mentioned my name. So she looked me up and called me and said, ‘Hey, would you like to come visit?' And then I came and visited and I really liked it."
Iglesias swims in the 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 100 yard individual medley this season.
Upon her arrival at Ball State, Iglesias was roomed with fellow freshman swimmer Mallory Miles. The two have broken several school records. In fact, Miles beat Iglesias by half a second to set the school record for 100 backstroke at the team's midseason taper meet.
"Inside the pool we are racing, but outside the pool we're roommates. It's good that we're rooming together because if I was rooming with [a non]-swimmer, they'd probably get really annoyed that I have to get up at five o'clock in the morning three days a week to go to practice. And that I would always smell like chlorine," Iglesias said.
Miles said she has grown to appreciate Iglesias both as a friend and a teammate.
"Jackie is a person who you can always count on to lighten the mood. She is a very hard working, dedicated, and kind individual that will always be very supportive of her friends and teammates," she said.
Being from Aurora, Ill., Iglesias said she is thankful for the tight knit bonds she has made with her fellow swimming teammates.
"I came in knowing that I had a group of friends already. The guys teams too, we're pretty close with them," she said. "I've definitely made a lot of friends."
Being thrown into the rigorous training required by an athletic program such as swimming, just one month into her freshman year of college, Iglesias said the initial stages were rough.
"It's pretty hard because we started practicing in September and then right into October we hit it hard. There was really no adjustment period," she said. "It's hard when you have to stay up late to do a paper and then you have to get up at five o'clock in the morning and swim. And we can only fit our classes in during certain times of the day, so then that is hard too. It was a hard adjustment, but so far it's been OK."
The swim team set several school records at last weekend's MAC tournament. Miles and Iglesias both said the meet was the highlight of this season.
"This season went really well for our team. Our team was very dedicated and hard working everyday and never gave up. We all wanted to move up in points for MAC and we knew what we had to do to achieve this goal," Miles said. "This past weekend, every single one of us girls swam our hearts out, and we left it all in the water.
"The score may have shown that our team came in last, but our team was by far the most improved. We had 10 records broken this past week at MAC and numerous personal best times. It was the best weekend for our team out of the whole season."
Miles believes the MAC Championship put a cap on this year's season of hard work and perseverance.
"The most exciting part of this weekend was sharing these moments with my friends, teammates, family and coaches," she said. "We all went through the hard practices and overcame many tough mental aspects of this sport and this weekend showed, not only for me but also for the team, that Ball State was there to conquer. And in my opinion, that is what we did," said Miles.
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