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Swim Club Seniors Honored as Champions In and Out of the Pool
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum was filled to a capacity crowd of more than 200 recently, when families celebrated the success of the Santa Barbara Swim Club and recognized the graduating senior class of Rayanne Nguyen, who plans to attend Fresno State; Lolo Blair, USC; Matthew Wissman, Cal State Northridge; Alex Melton, UCLA; Claire Rogers, University of Puget Sound; Lindsay Parish, USC; and Drew Casier, UC Irvine.
The senior class epitomizes the SBSC motto of “Champions in the Pool; Champions in Life.” At the annual event, the seniors each received a personal photo montage detailing the years they have spent dedicated to the club.
“Being a part of SBSC for the past 11 years has given me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. I have made lifelong friends and now have the opportunity to pursue my dream of swimming in college. I owe so much to my coaches and the club,” Blair said.
John Dussliere, head coach of the swim club and coach of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, highlighted the careers of the graduating seniors and announced where they would be attending college next year.
“I have enjoyed my time with the swim club and grown tremendously in the past 10 years. I have learned so many lessons in and out of the pool. Swimming has helped me learn perseverance, time management, and along the way, I have made lifelong friends. I know the things I have learned in Santa Barbara will stay with me as I attend Fresno State,” Nguyen said.
Finishing off the night was the premiere of the 2008-09 video yearbook, which contained a glimpse into the team’s recurring theme: fun, friends and fast swimming, and a devotion and commitment from their coaches.
— Julie Green Williams represents the Santa Barbara Swim Club.
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» on 06.06.09 @ 12:36 PM
Great story Julie! A remarkable group of young men and women, who through the sport of swimming and the Santa Barbara Swim club have accomplished so much! Way to go!
» on 11.12.09 @ 10:43 AM
FYI: this is purely semantics. Mr. Dussliere was “a” coach (one of many) involved with the 2008 US Olympic squad. I don’t think it would be fair to the “official” coach or coaches of the outstanding 2008 US Olympic team to state he was “the” coach.
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