An Extra Sweet Homecoming for Knapp
by: Camron Ghorbi
HurricaneSports.com
Any midseason return home for Sydney Knapp would be special.
But Friday’s trip to Maryland for the Hurricanes’ meet at Navy – as a team co-captain, veteran swimmer and a twice-over NCAA top-50 time holder – will be extra sweet.
To say life is a lot different for Knapp than it was two years ago would be…well, an understatement.
“That wasn’t something I would have ever considered,” Knapp said. “I knew I would have work to do. To have proven myself to the extent that people would say, this is the real deal here at Miami and you’re a big part of it…it will never not blow my mind.”
Knapp has two times that currently rank in the top 50 in the NCAA already this season. Her time in the 50-yard freestyle is 36th nationwide, while her time in the 100 free currently ranks 45th.
The junior standout has two of Miami’s 15 times that rank in the top 50 in the nation – nearly double the same amount the Hurricanes had at this point last year (eight).
And that’s just the beginning of the story.
“I came onto the team not exactly as one of the fastest or most highly recruited swimmers,” she said. “I knew starting my freshman year I had a lot to prove. Coming into my junior year, I didn’t want to let anyone down.”
Of Miami’s 15 times that rank inside the NCAA’s top 50, underclassmen like sophomore Zorry Mason and freshmen Andrea Todorovic are responsible for nine of them. Knapp and classmates like Carmen San Nicolas and Alaina Skellett have collected the other impressive times.
Looking around the pool, the Germantown, Md., native says things don’t only feel different from two years ago…they are different.
Take, for instance, her recruiting class – which has been halved to its current four members, but whose connection has become infinitely stronger as a result.
“Our class started with eight people. People have different reasons, just as valid as the next, as to why they aren’t here anymore,” she said. “But, for the swimmers that are in my class that are still here, we have such a different and such a closer bond.
“Those are my people – day in, day out. They were there from Day 1. No matter what we’ve gone through, we’ll all get across the finish line together.”
Knapp said that the proof is in the pudding for the team’s success and the current training system in place.
“It’s the coolest thing,” Knapp said. “I use Carmen as an example – she was my roommate freshman year. I remember coming in my first night with Carmen, who barely spoke any English, and neither of us knew what the heck we are doing. But I trained next to her every day, and she makes me a better person every day.
“For so many reasons, I don’t know what I would do without her.”
Now, Knapp gets to share that success in front of her family at Lejeune Hall on the Navy campus. She’s familiar with swimmers on the other teams – a field that includes Towson, George Washington and Johns Hopkins – but wearing the ‘U’ on her chest will be extra sweet this weekend.
“It’s going to be a really fun time,” Knapp said. “I have my family, my aunts and uncles, and it’s going to be all of my worlds coming together all in one place. To be a captain, and to be leading the charge is an incredible experience and I can’t wait.”
