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Leslie Swinley and the Virginia swimming and diving teams compete at Pittsburgh on Sunday, marking the team’s final dual meet of the season. Swinley, a native of Vienna, Va., recently sat down with VirginiaSports.com to talk about the team’s two big wins last week, why she chose UVa and her favorite book.
Question: How did it feel to pick up two wins last weekend?
Swinley: I think Carolina was a really good win for us. Coming off of last year and having a big win gave us a ton of confidence. Also, watching the boys made us really excited to come out and get ahead at the beginning and do what we did last year. I think having Duke second was hard emotionally but we did a good job getting back up.
Question: And this weekend is your final dual meet of the season. What kind of challenges will Pitt present?
Swinley: I think it will be a good test to see where we are now as we go into ACCs. I think a lot of people are going to have to have a good meet. It will be a good contest for us since we are resting now, not doing so much yardage to prepare for a good meet.
Question: How did you get started swimming?
Swinley: I started swimming when I was six and in summer league. I tried a bunch of different sports but I wasn’t any good at them so I just tried swimming to see what would happen and I liked it and went from there. I started doing year-round swimming when I was eight or so. I did gymnastics for a little while and basketball when I was 10 since I was really tall when I was little. But swimming stuck.
Question: Why did you choose to come to UVa?
Swinley: I’m from northern Virginia so I hear a lot about UVa. My freshman and sophomore years (of high school) I kept saying I wasn’t going here. It was too close to home; I wanted to go to California. But when my junior year hit I decided that being close to home might be okay. When I took my visits I first went to Princeton and I really liked it; I almost canceled my trip to Charlottesville. But when I came on my visit here, I liked it more. I liked the team atmosphere and how the girls interacted with each other.
Question: What is your major?
Swinley: I am majoring in sports medicine with a minor in religious studies. Hopefully I’ll go to physical therapy school after I graduate. I want to do either physical therapy or maybe athletic training.
Question: What is your favorite event to swim?
Swinley: I really like the 1000, especially at dual meets, because it is not as long as the mile but is a good distance. The hardest thing about swimming the mile is coming to practice and knowing you have a long day ahead of you. You really need to mentally prepare yourself for the mile because you know you can do it physically after going through all that training but when you get to the end of that lineup you really have to work hard to finish and keep your stroke.
Question: What do you like to do for fun?
Swinley: I really like to read for fun, go shopping and just hanging out and relaxing since I don’t have much time for that.
Question: What is your favorite book?
Swinley: My favorite book I’ve ever read is Life of Pi. I’ve read it twice and in one of my classes now we get to read it and study it in its religious aspects.
Question: What is your interest in studying religion?
Swinley: At my high school senior year, I took a comparative religion class. I grew up with a Christian background. It is interesting to me to learn about other religions and how they are all related.
Question: What is your favorite spot on Grounds?
Swinley: I really like the Lawn. I wish I got there more. I also like the Whispering Wall. We go there sometimes and we’ve seen the Hullabahoos at night and it is really nice.