Bridget Duquette '21 Recruiting Profile

I have been swimming competitively since the age of 5. Competitive swimming is my happy place. Many of my teammates have assured me in the midst of many a grueling workout that I am misconstruing the concept of a “happy place,” but it works for me.

 I grew up swimming, and playing soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and Little League baseball (yes baseball). I always played at least one sport per season. Before high school, swimming and basketball in the same season was “S.O.P.” for me (my Mom’s a retired Marine Lt. Colonel). I officially chose swimming over basketball in my freshman year. For me the choice was a foregone conclusion, but for my dad and my travel basketball coach, I played it like a tough call. 

 Swimming is the sport that best taught me the lessons of team sports. It’s the sport where I felt the greatest bond to, and responsibility for, my teammates’ progress and wellbeing. It’s the sport where I came to truly understand and sincerely believe what every coach I’ve ever had, in any sport, tried to teach me about the importance of teamwork in sports and life. For me, the ubiquitous value of a “one for all, all for one” philosophy came into clearest focus on a pool deck, rather than a pitch, court, field, or diamond. Competitive swimming taught me to set measurable goals for myself, big and small, and to work tenaciously toward them. A missed time cut or a disappointing test grade is never final judgment or cause for despondency, but rather an important milestone in my journey as a student-athlete. When setbacks are understood as guideposts, as opportunities even, progress is constant and inevitable.

 Many competitive athletes say their sport provides them an outlet, but for me competitive swimming is more of an inlet. Swimming is where I gather strength, earn confidence, and vanquish insecurity and doubt, all of which steel me and give me the resources to pursue all of my life’s ambitions with clarity and humility. College is an exciting new frontier for me that I will meet with an open mind and a confident approach, thanks in considerable part to what competitive swimming has always taught me and brought out in me.

 I can’t wait to share my “happy place” with my college teammates.