Rams jump back into the swimming pool

For the first time in 20 years, VCU’s Swim Club not only has competed in a swim meet, but placed fourth overall in the 17-team competition. Moreover, the club became active for only two months before last week’s performance at the annual Elon University Swim Club meet.

“As soon as we arrived there, I was a little apprehensive on how things would go since we were one of the smallest teams,” said Clayton Joyner, a junior business major and vice chairman of the swim club. “But as soon as we got in the water and started winning races, we knew things were going to go pretty well.”

With only nine swimmers, the club competed against such nationally recognized schools as Duke, Wake Forest and James Madison universities as well as the universities of Virginia and Maryland.

Rachel Parnell, a sophomore social work major who won three first places at the meet, said she was not intimidated as a member of the underdog team.

“I wasn’t all that nervous going into it or anything because everything was really laid back,” Parnell said. “Everybody there was really cool, and they were all just there to have a good time.”

Despite the relaxed nature of the meet, Nathan Fair, a junior real-estate and urban-development major, entered the meet with a different attitude.

“I found it really intimidating,” said Fair, the club’s treasurer who felt more at ease once Parnell and Joyner started winning races. “I was just really pleasantly surprised at how well we did. We showed a lot of individual strength and a lot of team spirit and support.”

Even though the club never competed as a unit, Fair said the experience brought everyone together as a team.

“When you are forced to be in the same car for a 3.5 hour trip … it brings you together,” he said. “There is something about spending the night in a hotel room that just brings you closer.”

With the meet behind them, the club members now have their sights set on becoming a full-blown swim team.

“The idea of developing a team from something that we’ve all created is almost a dream at this point,” Joyner said. “But if it did happen it would be even better than competing in the NCAA meet, because what’s better than swimming in a meet than starting a team?”

Parnell said she finds it a wonderful experience for the Swim Club members to create such a team atmosphere.

“None of us have swum in serious competition for a good couple years,” she said. “It’s been awesome coming back and starting it back up with these guys. Hopefully, we’ll keep going strong and actually get going.”

The club plans to attend several meets this academic year including the Waterfest at the University of Virginia and the East Coast Club Championships in Atlanta.