Discovering Pleasure within the Water: Audrey Mahoney’s Last Chapter at UNH

After 14 years within the pool, Audrey Mahoney is ending her profession with extra than simply information to point out for it.

Over the final 4 years on the University of New Hampshire, the senior sprinter has constructed a embellished profession stuffed with convention titles, relay wins, damaged pool information and milestone performances. But as Mahoney closes out her time with the Wildcats, the most important lesson she realized isn’t just methods to compete, it is methods to benefit from the sport that has modified her life for the previous 14 years.

“I would say the level of pressure I put on myself decreased,” Mahoney stated. “The more I enjoyed it, the more I enjoyed showing out, the more I enjoyed getting on the blocks and seeing my teammates.”

That shift in perspective helped form the ultimate chapter of Mahoney’s collegiate profession, one which not too long ago introduced her again to her house state of Illinois to compete on the TYR Pro Swim Series on the FMC Natatorium. A meet showcasing among the prime swimmers within the nation, Mahoney had been invited in years prior, however throughout her senior season the celebs lastly aligned for her to attend and mark her final swim meet at house along with her whole household in attendance.

For Mahoney, the expertise was each surreal and full circle.

“My last meet was at home, which was kind of why I wanted to do it,” she stated. “If I had the chance to end it back where it all started, why not?”

Mahoney’s first expertise with swimming is credited to her dad and mom, who put her and her sister in swim classes to be taught water security. What began as a childhood exercise shortly grew to become extra severe when she joined a membership crew at eight years outdated and has now spent 14 years swimming competitively. Even then, she didn’t at all times image swimming taking her this far.

“I didn’t even think I would make it to college swimming,” Mahoney stated.

This mindset modified her sophomore yr of highschool, when faculty coaches started exhibiting curiosity. Eventually, UNH stood out to Mahoney not simply due to swimming, as a result of it provided the whole lot she was searching for outdoors the pool and past her house state.

Mahoney, who’s ending a level in Health Management and Policy, stated that whereas lecturers performed a serious function in her choice, she additionally discovered herself drawn in direction of life in New England.

“I knew I didn’t want to be surrounded by just farmland,” stated Mahoney with amusing. “I wanted a beach, I wanted a city, and I wanted options.”

She fell in love with the versatile ambiance and site of UNH and it was the whole lot she needed.

Once she arrived at UNH, Mahoney shortly made an impression as a dash freestyler, competing within the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle occasions. Some of the most important highlights of her profession got here early, together with serving to the Wildcats win the convention title as a freshman and incomes the Team Rookie of the Year award.

One of the moments she nonetheless remembers most got here throughout her first convention championship meet, when she swam the anchor leg of the 200-medley relay.

“As a freestyler, you’re the last leg, so it all came down to me,” stated Mahoney. “We won by a small margin that day, I just remember a senior grabbing me and saying, ‘You did it, you pulled it together.’ It felt amazing”.

The aggressive edge she felt her first season has lengthy fueled Mahoney’s success.

“I really don’t like to lose,” she stated. “I go into meets and I’m like, well, I want to win it. So I have to do my best.”

Despite this mentality among the most defining elements of Mahoney’s profession got here throughout the much less seen challenges alongside the way in which.

As a sophomore, she handled shoulder ache that made it tough to get by intense coaching. At the identical time, she was coming off a standout freshman season, the mixture of bodily ache and self-imposed strain started to put on on her.

“I was very in my head,” stated Mahoney. “I didn’t want to race it [50 freestyle] anymore because I was putting too much pressure on myself.”

Eventually, she stated talking truthfully along with her coaches helped her start to maneuver ahead.

That lesson returned this yr, when Mahoney handled one other problem within the pool, episodes of blacking out whereas swimming that have been ultimately recognized as vertigo.

“I had to stop at practice because I couldn’t see, I couldn’t hear anything,” stated Mahoney. “It just made me realize if you can push yourself to get through that, you can push yourself to get through anything at this point.”

Rather than letting these moments outline her, Mahoney expressed they helped reshape the way in which she approached swimming.

“It’s really not all about that,” she stated of the strain she as soon as positioned on herself to win each race. “Just stop putting that pressure on yourself and just enjoy it.”

That mindset helped produce one of many strongest seasons of her profession.

This yr, Mahoney broke former U.S. Olympian Jenny Thompson’s report a complete of 3 times throughout her profession together with certainly one of her most memorable moments when she broke the 35-year-old report at UNH’s first house meet of the season, along with her father within the stands. She set a Tootell Aquatic Center pool report and meet report within the 100 fly at URI’s Harold Anderson Invitational on Nov. 23. Mahoney additionally broke the Siena Swim Center pool information within the 100 free, 50 free (broke her personal report) and UVM’s Forbush Natatorium in 50 free. Mahoney was named America East Women’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive yr.

Even now, she admitted it nonetheless doesn’t at all times really feel fully actual.

“I came to college not even thinking times like this were possible,” she stated. “And then I did it and was like, wow, that’s insane. So, I’m happy I got to leave something at UNH”.

However, Mahoney stated a lot of what she is going to keep in mind most about UNH has little to do with occasions on a scoreboard. Instead, it comes from her crew, which she describes as aggressive within the pool however uplifting and supportive outdoors of it. The type of setting the place teammates push each other but additionally know methods to make one another giggle after a tough day.

“It’s very uplifting and encouraging,” Mahoney stated. “You could have one of your worst days in school or in general and you come to practice and the team is just automatically like, ‘What can we do to help?'”

This tradition grew to become particularly vital to Mahoney this season as one of many crew captains.

“To me, it’s leaving the team better than you found it,” she stated.

As a frontrunner, Mahoney stated certainly one of her greatest priorities was ensuring youthful swimmers remembered the game ought to nonetheless be enjoyable. Speaking from her personal experiences, she emphasised that being a student-athlete mustn’t imply shedding your self within the course of.

Her perspective was formed partly by probably the most vital individuals in her life: her older sister, who performed Division III softball and remained a continuing supply of assist all through her profession.

“If I had a hard practice I would call her, if I had a good day I would call her,” Mahoney stated. “She was always there for me.”

As Mahoney’s faculty profession has come to a detailed, she stated she continues to be determining precisely what comes subsequent post-graduation. She hopes to start a profession after commencement and is fascinated about public well being evaluation. For now, she can be having fun with the liberty to discover health past the construction of school athletics.

She will not be finished with the pool eternally. Mahoney stated masters swimming might nonetheless be in her future, however for now she is moving into the subsequent chapter of life with the whole lot the game has given her.