Meet after meet, junior freestyle swimmer Sydney Stoll continues to excel in all arenas of the pool. Through a combination of intrinsic motivation, hard work and familial rivalries, Stoll has pushed herself to be an elite swimmer, and her efforts with Illinois swimming and diving should not be dismissed.
Stoll began her swimming career at a young age, starting swim lessons when she was two years old and joining her first swim team at five. She continued her competitive swimming journey in a few other club teams while also swimming for her high school in Wisconsin.
Early in her life, Stoll knew that swimming was her calling. She has had plenty of influence in her life in regards to her swimming experience. Her sister Holly happened to swim at another Big Ten school, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and has even competed against her in the past.
“During her college years, we swam the same events,” Stoll described. “I wanted to beat her, but she wanted to beat me. I think she beat me in one and I beat her in the other one. Then my younger sister, she’s way faster than the other three of us, so she beats us all the time. I raced her over the summer too, and I wouldn’t have gone as fast if I wasn’t racing her.”
Having a family who supported and challenged her to be the best in her sport is something that Stoll greatly values. She looked into various other Big Ten schools when scoping out her future college destination, but ultimately landed on Illinois because of the welcoming environment and inspiration from a dear friend of hers, Abby Cabush.
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“She was my role model, she still is — and she swam here,” Stoll said. “I came on that junior day visit, and how the team interacted was like nothing else. I took another visit to a different school and their team atmosphere was just not the same. We took a tour of the campus and I loved the campus … I came and I was like, ‘Wow, I really like it here.’”
Stoll’s time here has been nothing short of incredible. She set the ARC pool record in the 200-yard freestyle race at 1:48.99 in the team’s dual meet against Vanderbilt. Stoll said the 200-yard freestyle is her favorite race, but she also competes in backstroke and IM and plays a vital role in relays.
“There’s other days where you can choose your strokes,” Stoll elaborated in regards to her practice structure. “I always try to make sure I’m mixing in other strokes all the time. I’m always working on my fly, back or breast. I like to race girls — if they specialize in breaststroke, I’d be racing them in practice, it pushes me a lot.”
In the CSCAA National Invitational Championship during her sophomore year, Stoll broke the school’s record in the 100-yard IM, swimming a 55.77. Then, at the Boilermaker Invite this November, she left with a new school record in the 100-yard butterfly, with a time of 54.24. Stoll takes pride in her ability to do well in multiple events, and her internal drive to flourish in the pool makes her a key asset to the program.
Stoll described some of her personal goals, including beating her best time in the 200-yard freestyle race and the 200-yard backstroke. She also emphasized the importance of having fun during this last stretch of her collegiate career.
Stoll noted that taking care of your mentality is just as important as taking care of your body in competitive sports. She described how time management skills, a great coaching staff and a strong support system are the biggest components of her success at Illinois. Being able to pursue her passion with wonderful people behind her is something that Stoll said she will always cherish.
“I get stuck in my head and I forget that I’m there to have fun,” Stoll said. “Racing is supposed to be fun, so I think one of my goals for the rest of this year and senior year is to just have fun with my team while I’m at meets and make sure I’m supporting them.”
