Dong comes out of her shell for Penn swimming

The freshman class has stirred the waters for Penn women’s swimming, but it has been one of the quietest freshmen who has made the biggest splash.

Rochelle Dong may not try to be the center of attention in person, but she has quickly become the standout underclassman in coach Mike Schnur’s program.

Dong has helped Penn to many wins this season, having success in the 200-yard medley relay and 50 free as well as other races.

As a young swimmer, it did not take long for her to realize her love for the sport and potential to excel at it.

“It was around eighth grade when I realized I really enjoyed it,” Dong said. “It’s partly the competitiveness of the individual sport but also the team aspect of training together that I really enjoy.”

Before she knew it, she had become one of the top high school swimmers in the country. As a swimmer at Pacific Ridge High School in Carlsbad, Calif., her numerous athletic accomplishments included qualifying for Nationals and making the Scholastic All-America team.

Schnur was able to identify her talent immediately and acted swiftly to get her into his program.

“Mike was actually the first [coach] to call me,” Dong said.

As recruitment progressed for Dong, Penn began to separate itself from other potential destinations for reasons including and extending beyond the scope of athletics.

“I really liked [the coaches] a lot,” she said. “And going to Penn also gave me the opportunity to go to Wharton.”

As time went on, Dong has become more comfortable within the social context of the team, demonstrating that she is much more than her outwardly soft-spoken persona would suggest.

“I’m actually a little quiet and shy when I first get to know people,” Dong said. “But I do these weird, quirky things, and they’re like, ‘Oh, this girl’s funny actually!’”

Schnur has seen firsthand how her personality has blossomed as the season has progressed.

“She fits in great,” he said. “Rochelle is very quiet, but when she talks she’s hilarious.”

While it took some time for her to open up socially, her results in the pool have largely spoken for themselves. Dong has consistently impressed with her performances throughout the season, becoming the clear-cut star of the freshman class and, largely, of the team in general.

“Rochelle is one of the best swimmers we’ve ever had, and I think she’s going to be an NCAA qualifier pretty soon,” Schnur said.

Her success has been no revelation to the coaching staff, but Dong claims that her teammates may have had reason for surprise.

“I’m actually one of the worst swimmers during practices,” she said. “So they were really surprised to see how well I did in meets.”

As one of the squad’s top swimmers, Dong will invariably need to take on a leadership role in future years. For now, she is content to stay true to herself and yield to upperclassmen.

“I kind of just do what I do and hope that others will follow in my footsteps,” she said.

Schnur, for one, is more than happy with Dong’s progress as a swimmer.

“Down the road, in a few years, she’ll probably have to become a little more verbal, come out of her shell a little bit,” he said. “But [the freshmen] really feed off of her success.”

When asked if there were any anecdotes that would illustrate Dong’s quirky personality, Schnur responded as any concerned coach would.

“Nothing I would say in print,” he said with a smile.

Regardless, Dong’s performances in the pool will surely give Penn fans plenty to talk about for years to come.

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