Alana Tamura '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Alana Tamura and though I may only be 5'3", you'd be surprised by how much I can do. As a freshman, I placed 7th in the  50 free and 6th in the 100 fly (with a State cut) at Metros. Our 200 Medley placed 3rd at finals and our 200 free relay placed 4th. At State, I finaled and placed 16th in the 100 fly. Our 200 and 400 free relays both finaled as well. This first year on high school swim was a great experience because it gave me the opportunity to meet and work with new people and improve not only in the water, but as a team. It was a different experience than what I was typically used to but it showed me that swimming was not just about working hard and swimming fast, but also about bonding with your teammates.

I have been swimming competitively since I was 7 years old and currently am in the second highest practice group on my team. When I first started swimming, I thought of it as more of a recreational activity than a sport. However around the time I turned 10, I realized that swimming was something that could open up doors to big opportunities and so I started taking it more seriously. I've had a lot of ups and downs with the sport. Around the age of 12 I had a major plateau which took a toll on not only my performance but also my motivation for the sport. However as time progressed, I started learning to love the sport again and am recovering from my plateau. I take a lot of pride in being a SMAC athlete and look forward to bringing what I have learned throughout my swimming career into a new team. 

In terms of colleges, I am looking for a smaller school located in a larger city. I like the idea of being in walking distance of my extra curricular activities while also being able to go out and explore the bigger area. I am planning on swimming Division III because it gives me the opportunity to push myself physically while also being able to focus well in my academics. In terms of school, I have always struggled to find a balance between swimming and grades so it has been a bit of an up and down experience. However in the past year with COVID, I have been able to develop good study habits and my grades have improved tremendously. 

I love to learn, especially when it comes to science or math. I am always fascinated when learning of new techniques and even more so when I am able to execute them correctly. This goes for both academics and swimming. I consider myself to be a pretty quick learner. However, when I do stumble upon something that I can't quite understand, I take extra time to work on that one topic until I am able to understand it to the best of my abilities. I am planning on majoring in Kinesiology/Physical Therapy. Throughout my life, I have had my fair share of experiences with physical therapy due to both swimming and me being clumsy. I have decided that physical therapy is what I want to do as a profession and that swimming will be with me along the way. I will be looking for a school that will push my limits in the pool, in the classroom, and most importantly, as a person.