Sydney Slepian is a senior on the swim team from Sussex County, New Jersey.
Q: What is your major/minor and what are your future prospects?
A: I’m a biology major, Spanish minor, and I am hoping to apply to medical school this coming cycle.
Q: What are your events? Which event is your favorite?
A: Sometimes I feel like I’m the team wildcard because the events that I do change every season, but I always do 100 back and 200 back. Those are my main events. Then I’ll do IM, sprint freestyle, and backstroke. I’ve always loved the 100 back.
Q: How long have you been swimming and why did you start?
A: I come from a family of swimmers. My mom competed at the University of Virginia for swimming. My sister swam at the United States Naval Academy. I started year round clubs when I was five years old and I’ve not stopped since then. That puts me at 16 years of swimming every single season year round. It’s a lot.
Q: What senior traditions are you excited for?
A: I’m excited for senior day. It’s our last home meet but we only have one home meet this year. Our senior day is in October around homecoming. So plug that in! One thing I am really excited for, that I look forward to every year, is our conference meet at GMAC. They announce all the seniors individually, the seniors line up at the side of the pool and you get your name and your picture on the scoreboard.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the team?
A: I think we have a great camaraderie on the team. I think that’s what really sets us apart from other teams that I’ve been on. We just have a great underlying respect for one another. I think that’s really difficult to find elsewhere. I just love hanging out with them every day and swimming. It’s very tough. It’s a huge time commitment mentally and physically. It’s exhausting but being around the girls that are your best friends to help push you through is a great feeling.
Q: What is your advice to freshmen joining the swim team and sports in general?
A: I would say don’t try to bite off more than you can chew. That’s something I wish I could have told my freshman self. Especially since you’re coming to Hillsdale, you are probably a perfectionist or an overachiever. That’s not a bad skill to have, especially being an athlete, we tend to be more competitive. But only take what you can handle. That would be my advice. Just recognize what you can do and what you can’t do and don’t be upset with what you can’t do.
Q: If you had to be a gilled animal, which one would you pick?
A: This is a hard one because I think most people would be a dolphin or a shark but I don’t want to be basic. I won’t give an answer, that’s my answer.
Q: Do you have any songs that you listen to before you race or any pre-race rituals?
A: Yes! Since freshman year, behind the block, I’ve listened to Powerglide by Rae Sremmurd and 6 Foot 7 Foot by Lil Wayne. Those are the two songs that I have on repeat behind the block before every race.
Q: What is your favorite part about Hillsdale?
A: I really like how driven everyone is. Actually this is for you too, because you’re a freshman. When I got to Hillsdale campus for the first time, I saw the “It’s the people” sign. I was like, “Yeah, it’s the people everywhere.” There are people everywhere — that’s universal. After meeting my friends on the team and in my classes, it genuinely is just a really great group of driven people who are there to support each other.
