Background
Until high school, Ann Murphy had never swam competitively. Instead she pursued her athletic passion in soccer, softball and basketball. When her freshman year of high school rolled around, Ann added swimming to her athletic repertoire. Swimming seemed like a natural choice for the Florida native as she grew up near the water and her siblings and dad were also swimmers. Even though she had not been swimming for a long time, Ann chose to pursue the sport at John Carroll University where she is a communications major. When she’s not staring at the black line on the bottom of the pool, Ann loves doing anything in the outdoors- kayaking, backpacking, fishing, skiing, you name it.
High School
Ann’s swimming career began with the Seacrest Country Day Stingrays. She was named Rookie of the Year her freshman year and then Captain for her senior year. Being a newcomer to the sport, Ann was pleased with the positive reinforcements her coaches and teammates gave to her. She still keeps in contact with one of her coaches, Chuck Slaght.
College
2012-2013: From an outsider’s perspective, choosing the collegiate swim life seems like a odd choice for Ann. However, to her, it was the sport where she had the most potential to grow. As a first year Blue Streak, Ann competed in sprint freestyle events. By the end of the year championship meet, her times had improved significantly and she was overall pleased with the season.
2013-2014: The start of Ann’s sophomore year came with a coaching change. The new head coach, Mark Fino, quickly turned Ann into a butterfly swimmer. Though she’s yet to swim the 200-yard butterfly, the 100-yard butterfly soon became her third event in the championship meet and there she went a lifetime best of 1:09.11. At the meet she also posted a new best time in the 100-yard freestyle 56.43. The team finished third, but with the great improvements from all swimmers, it felt almost as good as a 1st place victory.
2014-2015: For her junior year Ann spent the first semester studying abroad in New Zealand. She was able to pursue her love for exploring and being outdoors and then jump into the pool for the second half of the season. Even though she did not make the championship team scoring roster, Ann came close to her personal bests, an impressive feat for cutting her training time in half.
