Co-Captain Arnold Su ’20 has swum five out of the eight individual events at a championship meet.
According to teammate Ralph Lam ’22, Su’s success in the pool comes as a result of his relentless work ethic and commitment.
“Arnold brings a lot of dedication to the team and also a great level of focus and intensity, but in a good way. Although he has moments where he is very light and goofy and funny, he is able to quickly switch into this very focused and disciplined mode that is truly admirable,” said Lam.
For Su, swimming has been an integral part of his life, as he began to swim at the age of nine.
Su said, “When I first started swimming, at the time I was trying a lot of sports because I was just a small kid so my parents put me in a lot of sports. One of the sports I tried was swimming and I ended up being pretty good at it so that’s how I started. First, I just started it as a form of exercise, then I started liking it more so I started competing and getting a more competitive feel… I think [Andover] is where I really started to like swimming a lot more [because of] competing with the team and everything.”
As a captain, Su works with his fellow Co-Captain Sam Donchi ’20 to build a strong support system for the team.
“Sam and I, both as captains, like to think that we have to be good role models in everything… [We try to] be very approachable and comforting and easy to talk to because sometimes it can be a little intimidating being part of a team for the first time especially if you’re new, but know that’s something you have to be able to do as a captain,” said Su.
According to teammate Yubo Jin ’21, Su lets his actions do the talking and sets the standard for everyone on the team.
Jin said, “He leads through actions much less than his words. He’s arguably one of the best swimmers on the team. He’s always very consistent with his technique, his dedication to swimming is amazing… He’s consistent, he’s fast, and mainly he inspires others by doing well himself and everyone strives to be him. [Su] and Sam together make a great combo, the team this year is really good thanks to both of them.”
With two big meets left in the season, Su’s goals for the team lie in performing well at New Englands and keeping the foot on the gas pedal after performing well at Easterns.
“I think the team has been doing very well so far. Since the beginning of the term, people have been a lot more focused and a lot more engaged in practices. This past weekend at Easterns, there were a lot of personal bests which is pretty great to see and I think the best part is a lot of people were cheering for both the boys and the girls,” said Su. “Now we’ve really got to carry that momentum all the way through to New Englands.”
With his Andover career nearing its end, Su hopes to simply give it his all, like he has for the past four years.
“Personally, I want to get out some good swims. Just swim a good one for one last time for Andover. I just want to do my best,” said Su.
Editor’s Note: Ralph Lam ’22 is a Video Editor for The Phillipian. Yubo Jin ’21 is a Multilingual Editor for The Phillipian.
