University of Massachusets Athletics
From the Deep End with... Emma Roush
November 07, 2014 | Women's Swimming & Diving
The fourth installment of a weekly series where UMass Athletics catches up with members of the Swimming & Diving teams for a Question & Answer session! Next on the blocks is Emma Roush
Emma is a freshman Kinesiology major from Overland Park, Kansas.
Talk about your recruiting process? What brought you to UMass?
There's a guy who went to my high school [Michael Glenn] and he's a swimmer and he came here. His mom emailed my mom and said, "Hey, Emma should look at UMass!" I thought, "I don't want to go there, it's so far away." She sent a video of my diving to Mandy and Mandy said, "Oh, I'm interested in her." So we just started talking and came up for my visit and I just loved it here. Everybody was super nice and I loved the team.
What's Mandy like as a coach?
She's awesome. She pushes me to do my best. She's really good at teaching the basics. She works on that until you have that mastered, and then she goes from there. I never feel like what she asks me to do is unreasonable - I always feel prepared. She makes me feel prepared.
What has your first few months of college been like?
Good, but it's a lot different. It's different because of all the training. My team at home didn't practice much so it's a big commitment but I love it. With all the schoolwork, it's harder. You have to work on time management and I'm still figuring it out.
Do you look up to the older divers with questions about that kind of stuff?
A lot of them have taken the courses I'm taking. If I have a question with anything, they'll help me. I work with my freshmen a lot. We're in a lot of the same classes so we do a lot of group work together.
What do you want to major in?
I want to major in Kinesiology. I'm in the Intro in Kin class, and I'm also doing chemistry and math, those are all required for the major. I'm starting with the pre-reqs.
What's your favorite class?
I would say Intro to Kinesiology. The professor's pretty funny. It's just interesting stuff, I don't get bored. I like learning about the body.
Who's the best dancer on the team?
Michaela [Butler]. Okay, so she graduated but she still practices with us every day and she's always dancing. It's hilarious.
Who's the best singer?
I don't know if there's a best singer.
Who's the worst singer?
Rob [Barry]. I'm not sure whether to take it seriously or not.
Do you hang out with a lot of the divers? Yeah, I see a lot of the freshmen swimmers. Most of the divers live off campus, so there's only like four. There's me, the two freshmen boys and then the three sophomores. The three sophomores usually do their own thing, so I hang out with the freshmen a lot.
Do you live with someone else on the team?
I live with a lacrosse player. We get along -- we just never see each other because our schedules are completely different.
Do you have a favorite place on campus to hang out?
Not really. When I have free time, I usually go to one of the freshmen's room and we'll watch a movie. When we get a car, we'll go off campus and get bubble tea from the tea house.
What's your favorite food at Berk?
Sushi. I get sushi like every day. I like the cucumber and avocado roll with salmon on top.
Any desert, ever?
Ice cream. Ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.
Are they called sprinkles or jimmies?
I guess here they're called jimmies. I call them sprinkles.
What kind of advice would you give a high school senior about college swimming and diving?
I would say just it's what you want to do. Make sure you love it and you're not doing it for any reason other than that. If you're not committed and don't really like it, you won't have a good time. You're living with the team, so make sure you like what you do.
Have your parents come out to see you dive?
Yeah, they came to the first home meet. They got to see me dive then. They won't get to see me until A-10's because it's expensive. My dad's in a wheelchair, so it's hard for my parents to travel.