Rowan Women’s Swim’s season is in full swing, and a big reason for their success is the performance of sophomore standout Trisha Lau. Last year, Lau broke three personal-best times at the METs in the 500-yard freestyle, 50-yard backstroke, and 100-yard backstroke.
Lau is expected to keep stepping up for the program, but it took a lot of work for her to be in this position.
“I never did any other sports,” Lau said. “I’m not a land sport kind of girl, I ended up joining a club summer team and I fell in love with that. As I got older, I fell in love with the process.”
Her personality is always shining, and Assistant Coach Brad Green is a fan of the energy she brings to the team.
“I think she adds to the personality of this team,” Green said. “There’s a collective group of personalities, and what’s kind of fun is watching them all mesh together. She’s someone who is always kind of happy and in a sport where you’re staring at a black line for hours at a time. You need someone to break up the monotony of it. You need someone who’s going to be uplifting and she definitely brings that to the team.”
Lau has made an impact in and out of the water, and she’s carrying on the tradition that made her choose Rowan University.
“Out of all the schools that I visited, Rowan was the first school that I started talking to and they were talking to me as if they already knew me,” Lau said. “It’s a very successful program, but also, everyone is friends with everyone. It helps so much in creating that supportive and uplifting environment that is crucial to being a swimmer. Even though it is so independent, just having the whole team at the wall when you’re flipping is just so encouraging and keeps you going.”
Earlier this season, Lau got her first wins against Salisbury in the 200 and 400-yard freestyles. In the Franklin and Marshall Invitational, she placed fourth in the two events. This early success has caught the eye of Green.
“She’s a great competitor who absolutely rises to the occasion, she’s pretty funny though. Sometimes I don’t know if she knows where she is,” Green said with a laugh. “She’s just happy and goes about her business, but she definitely works very hard and you’re starting to see some of those results finally coming through.”
Lau is a bright spot for the team now, but also a bright spot for the future of the program. It goes beyond herself though, as the sophomore was quick to mention the younger swimmers on the team and how important they will be for years to come.
“The freshmen are amazing,” Lau said. “I see that as just the beginning. We always have a good foundational footprint and so many years of success and fast swimmers, but I think we will continue to grow and hopefully win more NJACs in the future.”
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