What got you first interested in swimming?
Cook: My parents made me do it. I stayed with it because of friends.
Kett: My parents made me do it. I have an older sister who’s also in the sport.
What made you want to pursue swimming in college?
Cook: I’ve always had fun swimming. I knew if I went to college, I would have fun swimming.
Kett: Coming into school, I just wanted to be with a group of people with a common interest and swim teams always bond in the same way and we have the same interests.
As seniors, how has the overall experience been?
Cook: It’s been hard. We’ve had different coaches. This year is especially hard because we have a brand new coach this year. We’ve just been working.
Kett: It’s been a lot of hard work. There’s been a lot of changes since freshmen year. There have been coach changes, both assistant and head coach.
How have you adjusted to having a new coach?
Cook: We’re swimming very fast this year which is awesome. Practice is supposed to be hard. It’s supposed to be challenging. We’re definitely fighting that challenge this year.
Kett: I think the team is a lot more motivated as a whole. It’s definitely changed the goals of the team because in the past, we’ve had five or six freshmen quit and their reason is “This isn’t what we signed up for” and I think that’s what we need. Practice is supposed to be hard.
Do you have a favorite professional swimmer?
Cook: Ryan Lochte is goofy. He’s what a swimmer should be, kind of goofy.
Kett: Ryan Lochte. He’s a goofy kid. He wears grills and big red sneakers.
What are your individual and team expectations?
Cook: There are nine teams, so we want to place seventh. That’s our goal. We were ranked eighth, and we want to change that.
Kett: Definitely not to finish last in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
Do you have a favorite swim moment in your life?
Cook: I made it to the MAAC Finals last year in one of my events and that was pretty cool. That was a pretty big moment for me.
Kett: Back when I really didn’t want to swim but my parents were making me swim, one time my mom came onto the deck and she picked me up and went to throw me in the pool, but I pulled her right in with me.
What are you looking forward to at the semester’s end?
Cook: Sleeping.
Kett: Sleeping. Definitely sleep. Just having all this time that I won’t know what to do with.
What are you looking forward to at Christmastime?
Cook: Not Christmas itself, but what’s after Christmas. We go on our trip to Hawaii and it’s pretty good and exciting.
Kett: More resting, I guess. I don’t know what else I’ll do over break.
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