University of Massachusets Athletics
Inside the Goggles with... Alex D'Anna
November 13, 2014 | Men's Swimming & Diving
The fifth installment of a weekly series where UMass Athletics catches up with members of the Swimming and Diving teams for a Question and Answer session! Next on the blocks is Alex D'Anna.
How is the team morale this year?
Honestly, the team morale is pretty high. Everyone is coming in ready to train. You can see the improvement from Army in the first meet last year to this year. We only lost by 40 as opposed by 100 last season. A lot of people are injured, a lot of the men. Overall, everyone's looking to train and put that number back on the banner.
What's Russ like as a coach?
He's a great guy. He's had so much success over the years, a number of championships, but the way he gets everyone involved, he makes it a fun atmosphere. Everybody's ready to work. It's all fun and games until it's time to get in the pool. When it's time to get in the in the pool, everybody's got that goal at the end of the season to win that championship.
What are some of your first memories of competitive swimming?
The first time I swam I was 8. It was a summer league. I don't remember the first race, it was a long time ago. I've had a lot of races since then. The first time I swam competitively, year round swimming, I was 10. My first meet the kid next to me just threw up everywhere before the race. I had no idea what was going on. They stopped the meet. I think I had to wait like 45 minutes before I had my swim.
Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have one sister, she's younger than me. She wasn't really a swimmer. She swam in high school but she wasn't a competitive swimmer.
What is your major?
I'm a sport management major.
What's your favorite class so far?
Sports 210, which is Intro to Sports Management. It has a lot of alums come in that are in the industry that are GMs of big companies. It's with Professor Lachowetz.
Is he the best dancer on the team?
He might be the best dancer. I haven't seen all these guys dance yet, but from what I've seen so far, he might take the cake.
Who have been your role models growing up?
Growing up I had a guy that I looked up to my freshman year when I switched teams. I went from the team I started on to a more competitive team, I wanted to get better and reach the level I'm at now. He was a senior, I was a freshman, he was a breast stroker, just like me, he swims at Virginia Tech right now. He's one of the best in the country. Harrison Cefalo, he's one of my good friends. Recently, this past year he made NCAAs. I trained with him one year and copied all the stuff he did and followed his path. Hopefully I can follow it more. We went to the same high school for only a year. We train together in the summer when he comes back. I'll text him every once and a while and ask what's going on. I'll ask him for tips and stuff like that.