About

About Me

I am 23 years old, but will be 24 by the time of the swim. I am a first year graduate student at California State University, Fullerton, working towards my Masters in Kinesiology with an emphasis on Sport Psychology where I am fortunate enough to learn from Ken Ravizza and all of the other amazing sport psych grad students! With my degree, I hope to consult athletes, specifically swimmers, as well as return to coaching, my other passion. I was coaching for the Irvine Novaquatics, the team I have swum for since I was 10, until the all-night class graduate program began in August of 2008. I love what I’m studying and see how it directly applies to coaching as well as working with athletes on their mental game, but also miss coaching and can’t wait to come back!

About Swimming

I learned to swim at the age of 5 when my parents started a summer league program in our neighborhood. I fell in love with the sport and eventually began swimming year-round for Novas when I was 10. I was also a Newport Junior Lifeguard and began competing in open water events at an early age. My favorites are the La Jolla Rough Water Swim and Naples Island, which I started doing when I was 12. I added a few more to the annual list, including the Newport Pier-to-Pier and Don Burns Corona Del Mar swims. I have always gravitated towards the longer swims like the Gatorman, and tried my first 10K last summer in Santa Barbara with Catalina Channel swimmer Dave Galli and the support of my sister Katelyn. That solidified the start of my journey with marathon swimming.

About Camp Fox, Catalina

Before I was a proficient open water swimmer, or swimmer at all, I was a Y-Indian Princess. It was a father-daughter program that all of my sisters and I participated in with our dad where we went on camping trips to various places and learned about Native Americans. Each year we went to Camp Fox on Catalina Island. I became infatuated with the island and still have the fondest memories of Camp Fox and our experiences at Catalina. One year when I was 8 and feeling pretty brave, I decided to jump off the fishing dock and swim the daunting 100 yards to shore. No one there had done that before and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing! I had no idea that people crossed the entire channel; the thought had never occurred to me. I was just proud of myself for making it to shore.

About the Swim

Dave Galli was the first person I met training for the Catalina Channel. He was a fellow Nova Masters swimmer, and that made the possibility that much more real. It was nothing I ever had dreamt of doing before, I just thought it would be cool to train with him – after all I loved ocean swimming and needed company. With the supportive persuasion of our Masters coach Ahelee, we did the 10K together and I had so much fun and started thinking, maybe this is something I can do. I was fortunate enough to be one of his support swimmers on his attempt, and that was the deciding factor. After witnessing his epic swim, I knew this was something I needed to do.

About the Catalina Channel

The Catalina Channel is a 21-mile stretch swum from Doctor’s Cove on Catalina Island to the San Pedro Peninsula. Most attempts are made between late July and September, when the water averages in the mid- to high-60s, with a slight temperature drop as you near the mainland. Due to shipping traffic and currents, the swim begins at midnight. Average crossing times range from 10 to 12 hours, but this is wildly dependent on currents and conditions. A hired charter boat and kayaker guide the swimmer and support swimmers are allowed. According to channel swimming rules, the swimmer may not wear a wetsuit, is not allowed physical contact with anyone during the swim, and must stand unassisted beyond the shoreline upon completion of the swim. Since 1927, 159 people have successfully completed the swim. For more information about the swim visit swimcatalina.org.