Student-Athlete Spotlight
Courtney Raw
Women's Swimming
Senior
Skillman, N.J.
January 28, 2013
A senior, four-year member of the Women’s Swim team, Courtney is a psychology major at the University of Delaware.
Courtney is from Skillman, NJ (Montgomery High School). She is a team co-captain with teammate Mackenzie Howarth.
Courtney is one of Delaware’s primer swimmers. She holds the all-time record for the 100-meter backstroke at 55.58 seconds. Also, the University of Delaware Alumni Association named her the 2011 Team Most Valuable Player.
1) What are your individual goals coming into this season?
Coming into this season my individual goals were mainly surrounding my top events the 100 and 200 back, I hope to break two minutes in my 200 back which has been a goal of mine for some time now. In my 100 back I really want to place at the conference meet, and get a new personal best time to end my career on.
2) How are you taking from your experiences last season and implementing them this year?
This year we are really focusing on team unity, we want everyone on the team to see that they have a key role, and that every swimmer contributes differently to the team but that it is all equally important.
3) What made you want to study and swim at Delaware?
I came to look around Delaware and immediately fell in love with the campus; it was exactly what I wanted out of school. My deciding factor was when I came on a recruiting trip to stay with the swim team for a weekend, everyone was so welcoming and I knew that Delaware was the perfect fit for me, it was everything that I wanted out of a school.
4) What is your major and why did you choose it?
I'm a Psychology major, I chose the major because I have always been really interested in people, how they act, think, and why. Understanding the differences between people has always been something that fascinates me, so being able to major in that understanding was an easy choice for me.
5) If not swimming, what sport would you play and why?
If I were not swimming, I'd probably be doing track and field. Growing up I was very involved in tack and field with local teams in my area, and I absolutely love the variety in track and field events from sprinting to hurdles, and high jump, I think its a really diverse sport which is really cool.
6) What has been your favorite class to take here at Delaware?
My favorite class I took at the UD was problems with corrections, a criminal justice class. It was a very eye-opening course to me and highlighted the harsh correctional facilities in the US and how there are so many problems that aren't being fixed and are just being accepted.
7) What are your favorite non-athletic activities to do?
I really love to draw, ever since I can remember I have been drawing pictures and sketching things, I have so many old sketch books that are filled with doodles and drawings, its something that I don't have a lot of time to do anymore, but it always relaxes me when I can find the time to do it.
8) What has been your most memorable moment in the water here at UD?
My most memorable moment by far was on the first day of conferences last year, it was the 400 medley relay and we were in the first heat, the "slower heat", we knew we had a fast relay and were really excited to see what we could do. I recorded my best time in the lead off leg of the relay, in the 100 back, Hannah Fachine swam the 100 breast and went insanely fast, Tori Gillespie swam the fly and as always she swam incredibly fast too, and then Marykay Harris dove in with probably the hardest job because we were pretty far ahead in the heat and she didn't have anyone to race. She swam lights out fast, we got a team record and knew that we had a chance of placing, we all sat and watched the next heat just waiting to see if we had done enough in the previous heat. As the second heat came to an end and the third place team touched we realized we had beaten them and had placed third. It was such an incredible feeling. I don't think I have ever been so excited at a swim meet in my career.
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