The men’s swim and dive team gathered at Washington D.C. to celebrate College Athlete Day hosted by the White House on June 12. (Courtesy of Eugene Soh)
Emory University men’s swimming and diving team visited the White House to acknowledge their 24th consecutive University Athletic Association (UAA) title and second consecutive NCAA Division III title.
The team participated in the first-ever College Athlete Day on June 12 and joined 51 other teams across the country. All three NCAA divisions were present for the celebration.
Head coach Jon Howell, who is entering his 26th year at Emory, said that the team’s visit was a “unique moment” he will cherish, especially at this point in his coaching career. To him, the “honor” presided in the fact that “not everybody has a chance to visit the White House” and that it was “fun” to do something new.
Junior Crow Thorsen said the invitation was “the cherry on top” of the team’s success last season.
Thorsen played an essential role in the team’s success last season, helping them win the 800-yard freestyle relay event in the 2023 UAA Swimming and Diving Championship. The team, consisting of Pat Pema (23C), Thorsen, Jeffrey de Groot (23B, 24B) and senior Nicholas Goudie, set a program record of 6:43.56.
Thorsen also helped the team win the national title with a third place finish in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:52.07.
Thirteen senior swimmers graduated from Emory after last season, and the rising seniors’ leadership will be vital for this upcoming season. Howell credited the upperclassmen for the team’s success.
“Our best swimmers are always our upperclassmen, and they really learn from each other,” Howell said. “One of the cornerstones of our culture is that everybody is really helping each other get better, and those upperclassmen have benefited from swimming under previous upperclassmen who helped them, and they’re excited to get back and repay that.”
Thorsen said the visit would go down as one of the “highlights” of his collegiate career so far.
“[It] is 100% an opportunity that I’m going to remember for my entire life,” Thorsen said. “And just being able to say that I went to the White House, as an Emory swimmer and with my teammates, is super, super cool. I am incredibly grateful for it.”
However, the visit was unconventional compared to other NCAA championship teams’ White House visits, as President Joe Biden missed the event due to a root canal surgery. Vice President Kamala Harris presided over the ceremony.
Although the 2022-23 men’s team led to success in the pool, the 2023-24 squad will enter next season with a similar goal in mind. Thorsen said he believes pursuing bigger goals will move the program “forward.”
“I don’t think winning made us complacent,” Thorsen said. “It made us want to win more.”
Samir Ajy (he/him) (24C) is from Atlanta, Georgia and is majoring in political science on a pre-law track. In his free time, Samir enjoys watching sports, playing ultimate frisbee and watching comedy-based movies.
