Q&A with Scot Robison

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Senior Scot Robison and the Virginia men’s swimming team heads to Atlanta for the ACC Championships, which begin Wednesday evening at Georgia Tech. Robison and his teammates are looking for their fourth consecutive conference title after a 3-peat performance a year ago. Finals slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights will be webcast online at www.theacc.com. Robison, a native of Charlotte, N.C., recently caught up with VirginiaSports.com to chat about the upcoming conference meet, his recent selection to the United States National Team and how he has changed since arriving on Grounds four years ago.

Question: Does the women winning the ACC Championships this past weekend give you momentum going into this week?
Robison: It definitely encourages us to see how well the women did at their meet. We train with them all year and do the same things. I always look forward to watching them perform well. This year offers the chance to win four straight. That is just an added bonus to what I hope is an awesome meet and end of the year for us.

Question: How do you feel about swimming at Georgia Tech again, where you won your first ACC Championship?
Robison: It is awesome because it is where it all started. It is probably my favorite indoor pool in the country; it’s just a great atmosphere and it’s a fast pool.

Question: What will be the key for you guys to win this weekend?
Robison: The key is going to be swimming to win. The way I want all the guys to look at it is swim each race to see how good you could possibly be. I don’t want anyone to worry about which team they are swimming next to. We need to take it one race at a time and be the best that we can be. If we approach it that way, only good things are going to happen.

Question: What does it mean for you to be named to the U.S. World Championship Team?
Robison: Right now my focus is just on ACCs and NCAAs, but at the same time in the back of my mind I am really happy that I have this international meet in July. It is something that I am so excited for that it is hard to just keep it in the back of my mind.

Question: What will you remember most about swimming at UVa?
Robison: The people. I will remember of all these relationships with my coaches and teammates. I have grown so much in four years, it feels like I moved into dorms yesterday, but at the same time I feel that I have grown up more than just four years.

Question: What are your future plans?
Robison: My degree is in environmental sciences. I will probably do an internship while I am training for Olympic Trials. Beyond that I am open to a lot of different things.

Question: How have you changed the most since you came to UVa four years ago?
Robison: I would say that I have grown into my own skin a little more. I’m more confident as a person. I know what I care about and what is important to me. Not necessarily that I didn’t know that before, but I was not as comfortable with it. I think how much I have grown in the pool reflects my life outside of the pool as well.

Question: What advice would you give to incoming first-years about being a student-athlete at UVa?
Robison: Don’t take anything for granted and don’t let it slip by. It goes by so fast that you have to make a conscious effort to realize that it is all happening in front of your eyes. When you first get here four years seems like a long time, but it is not a long time at all.