By Emily Mulcahey
Staff Writer
After leaving the not-quite-real-world realm of college student life, it is not unlikely to succumb to the 5 a.m. work out crowd. The average twenty something year old may cringe at the sound of that early alarm or may even have to crawl on all fours to the gym. 5 in the morning is so early, so unthinkable, it can break even the strongest willed.
Unless you’ve been doing it your whole life, of course.
“I’ve been doing doubles, getting up at five, go to school, then come home and practice since I was about the age of thirteen,” senior St. Bonaventure swimmer Rachel Bull said of her early swimming career. “We don’t have high school swimming in England, so I didn’t do it in high school, it was all club stuff.”
Born and bred in England, where swimming is, as described by Bull, “just something fun on the side, like a club,” she started her career at the age of 6, with lessons at her local pool.
“I’ve been on five different club teams since the age of six,” she said, “one was for beginners, and then I just kept going because I knew different coaches and stuff.”
These different teams, and her unwavering dedication to swimming from such a young age, helped Bull quickly build her credentials. All of this work did not go unnoticed. After reading her profile, former Bonaventure Head Coach, Seth Johnson, saw to it that she safely landed at Bonaventure.
“I knew people that had come to the states for swimming, and I went through a company, I figured I might as well try it out,” Bull said. “Bonaventure found me. I’m not sure what the company does, you just give them your profile and I think they just put it up on a website and schools can look at it, so Johnson found me. I spoke to him through Skype and stuff, and I liked Bonaventure the best.”
Rachel has glided to the top of the ranks in her stoke: freestyle. Not only was her first college coach impressed with her skill set, both sprint and distance freestyle, but so is her new one this year, Krista Carlson. She can see clearly why Bull was such a great find for the Bonnies.
“While I was not here at the time of Rachel’s recruitment,” Carlson said, “I would have to assume, based on what I have seen this past year, that Rachel was recruited based on her work ethic, attitude and impressive times even before she arrived at SBU.”
As Rachel plans to return home to England after graduation, and nearing her final dive into the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the last four years are starting to sink in.
“I’m nervous, emotional, everything really” Bull laughed, “It’s weird that this is my last bit of swimming ever, since I’ve been doing it all my life. It’s definitely nerve wracking especially with Krista, because we don’t know what to expect as a team, but we’re expecting a lot more this year than we did before.”
While Bull is facing the unavoidable senior nostalgia that comes with leaving the place she’s called home for the last four years, she isn’t the only one that will be affected by her departure.
“Rachel is a leader on our team for not only what she does in the pool but as well as outside of it,” Carlson said, “she has a great attitude, is focused on her academics and treats everyone on our team as equals; I know the underclassmen look up to her and she will be missed next year.”
With the end of the academic year looming only three months away, and the final trip to the big tournament even closer it had to be asked: would she make the same decision if she had to make it again?
“Yes,” is her immediate answer, “I would definitely pick Bona’s. I love it. I love the team; we’ve got a good team, especially this year. All of the freshman have come in and really molded well to the team. We’re very close knitted. Even with the coach transition, I would still do it again even knowing that was going to happen. The whole experience was good.”
