Athlete of the Week: Adam Effinger

This week’s Rose Thorn Athlete of the Week is senior computer programming engineer Adam Effinger. Adam has been a part of the Rose swim team all four years. So far, he has broken four Rose-Hulman records including the 50 freestyle, the 100 butterfly, the 200 butterfly, and the 200 individual medley. He has also been recognized four times as an all-conference swimmer. He has received recognition as National Swimmer of the Week and has qualified for multiple events in the NCAA National Tournament during his sophomore and junior years. Recently Adam took some time to answer some questions for the Thorn.



Rose Thorn: What events do you swim?

Adam Effinger: I swim a little bit of everything. Mostly it’s the butterfly events, though.

In about a month we will have our conference meet where I will be swimming the 100 Butterfly, 200 Butterfly, 100 Breaststroke and 4 different relays.



RT: How long have you been swimming?

AE: I have been swimming since sixth grade. It was the first grade that had sports at school and after trying out for tennis and golf, I decided to give swimming a try. The rest is history.



RT: Which one do you like best? Are you best at?

AE: I enjoy swimming the 100 Butterfly the best. I like it so much because of how technical the stroke is. It’s not a hard stroke once you learn how to control your body correctly... plus it happens to be the one I’m best at.



RT: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

AE: The Herman F. Keller State Mental Attitude award. It’s given to one senior in the state of Indiana a year who participates in the State meet. Indiana historically produces many great swimmers, so not only does this let people know that I am pretty good in my sport, but also that I am a well-rounded individual when it comes to working with other people and working on my school work. The award takes into account extracurricular activities, high school GPA, and recommendations from coaches, teachers, athletic directors, and principals.



Second on my list of proud accomplishments is my Eagle award. Once again, it shows that there’s more to me than just swimming and school.



RT: What are your thoughts on the team being in a new conference for swimming?

AE: This isn’t a new thing for our team. Since my freshman year, the swim team has been in three different conferences (including this conference). It’s interesting to go to meets and meet new people and swim against different competition. I’m honestly excited to swim with some new people.



RT: Do you plan on continuing to swim after graduation?

AE: Not really. I’ve put 11 years into this and feel like I’ve done my due. It’s not that I don’t like the sport, but I am excited to spend some time doing other things like reading some fun books I’ve put aside to read later and stuff like that.



RT: How has playing a varsity sport had an effect on your Rose experience?

AE: I’ve gotten to meet a good group of people and have lived with six of them for the last two years. It has also helped me in my classes; when you have 35 men on a team, someone is bound to know what is going on in one of your classes.



RT: What do you think your chances are for qualifying for the NCAA Tournament?

AE: Honestly, I’ve been very lucky with my natural talent, coaches, and team members. The last three years, I have qualified multiple times a year (in multiple events sophomore and junior years) for the NCAA tournament. As of this point, I have to drop time in my events, but I’m sure that I will be able to achieve the times I need to qualify for the tournament. This year we are excited to see how our relays perform at Conference though. We would love to have a relay team qualify for the tournament. We’ve only had one relay qualify for the NCAA tournament with our swim team. In fact, until this year, that relay was the only female group/individual to qualify for an NCAA national event.