SPORTS
Sophomore leaving competition in wake
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Also by Ben Solochek:
- Home 'Field' advantage (November 30, 2007)
- Salow matures, sees role expand for Wisconsin (November 15, 2007)
- Wisconsin survives, wins another 5 game match (November 12, 2007)
- UW to host IU, UM (November 7, 2007)
- Wisconsin splits weekend set (November 5, 2007)
Related Stories:
- Badgers making splash in pool (November 3, 2006)
- Sarnecki prepares for final college swim (March 7, 2006)
- Junior mid-distance swimmer encourages teammates with smile (February 14, 2006)
- Seniors, younger Badgers get ready for run at top ten (March 9, 2006)
- Senior makes splash in UW records book (November 17, 2006)
by Ben Solochek
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
This season, sophomore swimmer Yi Ting Siow has been tearing it up in the pool, leaving behind opposing swimmers in her wake.
"On good days, she trains like a beast. She can beat anyone in the pool," senior Andrea Wiesner said. "It's really fun to swim with her for me because it gives me someone to race, somebody to try and catch at the end of each set. So, it's fun."
Two weeks ago, Siow swam a personal best 2:11.24 in the 200-yard breaststroke at the Iowa University Field House. Not only did she earn top time, but she also set a Wisconsin record, earning her Big Ten Swimmer of the Week honors.
"I didn't know until I went to the website. If I didn't go to the website, I probably wouldn't have figured it out," Siow said. "I'm honored to have [the award], probably because of the 2:11 at Iowa, which was my best time. Even now, I have no idea where it came from. I was really surprised. It took me a while to absorb it."
Last weekend, Siow helped lead the Badgers to a third place finish at the Southern Methodist University Classic in Dallas. There, she won the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 2:00.01 and the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:14.80. These victories helped her earn the meet's High Point Swimmer Award.
Over the last two years, Siow has been breaking pool records and becoming a prominent swimmer on the national and international stage. As a freshman, she placed fifth in the 200-yard individual medley with a time of 1:58.26 at the NCAA Championships. At the same event, she placed sixth in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:12.77. Although she has placed high in national competition, she is just starting to see what the years of hard training has done for her.
"[Siow] is an amazing talent and is just finding out what hard work is going to do for her in this sport," assistant coach Geoff Hansen said. "She has gotten to where she has gotten mostly on talent and some good background, but she's really finding out what hard work, in and out of the pool, is really going to do for her."
Although Siow has become a success herself, she has helped others get better as well. During practice, she races not only other members of the women's team, but the men's team as well. This helps elevate the competitive spirit of the team.
"She's a great training partner for a lot of our women," Hansen said. "Quite honestly, she can push some of our men to do some good things as well. It's hard for a guy to have a woman in there beating them daily and she does that quite a bit."
"When she is successful, we are all really excited for her," Wiesner added. "So, of course, we want to swim just as well, just as fast and have just as much success."
Siow's work ethic helped her improve so she could perform on the international level. Last summer, Siow competed in Pan Pacific Championships. There, she had three top-20 finishes, including seventh in the 200-meter individual medley, 11th in the 200-meter breaststroke, and 14th in the 100-meter breaststroke. Her goal is not just to make it to the finals in NCAA competition, but to make it on the big stage, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, swimming for her home country, Malaysia.
"This summer was a big turning point for her," Hansen said. "She attending the Pan Pacific Games in British Columbia and was a finalist and the 200 IM. She saw what it took to be an elite swimmer on the world scene. We are looking ahead to not only the college season, but the Olympic games being close to her home, it's a big, big thing for her."
Although she works and trains hard, she has a good relationship with the rest of her teammates. She keeps things light-hearted and is known to give her teammates a good laugh.
"She has a funny laugh. She keeps things light. She's fun to hang out with and fun to swim with," Wiesner said.
After competing, Siow would like to stay in the sport, probably coaching. Her work ethic and desire to compete and be successful can be instilled on many young swimmers to help inspire them toward the same success that Siow has experienced.
"I might help out the little kids, you know, for fun," Siow said. "I think being a coach for the national swimmers in Malaysia would be easy because they know you and coach the little kids. I think it would be fun. I would not like to coach for the national team though. It's too much pressure."
