Charlotte Williams '13 may be new to the Dartmouth women's swimming and diving team, but early success in the pool has not been elusive for the freshman.
As a member of the Big Green, Williams has already posted several first-place finishes against some of the most competitive teams in the league and continues to perform with consistency, showing no signs of letting up.
Like many of her teammates, Williams began swimming at a young age with encouragement from her family.
"Before I could walk, I could swim," Williams said.
Williams' mother, a former competitive swimmer, was instrumental in Williams' decision to continue with swimming, she added.
While Williams played a variety of sports in high school, swimming remained her favorite and was the sport she wanted to continue in college, she said.
"[I wanted to swim in college] because I still didn't think I had reached my full potential in the pool," Williams said. "My senior year, I dropped a lot of time, and I thought if I gave it another four years I'd be able to drop more."
Williams said she chose Dartmouth because the program is flexible and encourages students-athletes to explore other academic and social interests beside their sports.
Upon arriving in Hanover, Williams suffered a cartilage tear in her hip that prevented her from competing in her signature events the breaststroke and the individual medley. Still, Williams proved to be versitile, enjoying early success in the 1000-yard freestyle and 200-yard butterfly.
"We have seen [Williams] have the opportunity to display a wide range of talents this season," teammate and co-captain Catherine Armstrong '10 said. "She showed early on that she wasn't going to let [her injury] get in her way."
Williams said that her high school and collegiate swimming experiences have been vastly different, particularly because the Dartmouth team places more of an emphasis on balancing sports with academics.
"Here it's obvious that we're much more focused on academics and take that a lot more seriously," she said. "We don't ever let our sport get in the way of that. In high school, it was a lot more about swimming."
Williams also said that she has enjoyed getting to know her teammates and learning from their experiences as student-athletes.
"I like the network that I have," Williams said. "It's such a wide variety of people that if I ever have any questions I can go to. It's a family lifestyle."
Williams added that she relies on her teammates for motivation before her important events.
"[I like] knowing that it's not about me but about helping out the team," she said. "When I win, I am aiding them and adding to the overall effort."
One of the most memorable collegiate moments for Williams was a victory against Boston University in the 1000-yard freestyle, an event she was not used to swimming.
"I ended up pacing the entire time with their fastest swimmer, and in the last 100, I came back and ended up beating her by a body length," she said. "Those are my favorite races when it comes down to the end."
Armstrong said Williams' competitiveness and leadership have driven her to excel this season, and will continue to in the future.
"She started off this year as a quiet freshman and [now] she's been leading the team and encouraging everyone to get behind the lane and cheer on their teammates," she said. "You can see that she really thrives in a competitive setting."
