For some swimmers on the SJSU team, the sport has become much more than just sprints and dolphin kicks, but instead a family and support system.
This is especially true for Rebecca Petoe, a biochemistry freshman from Switzerland, whose position includes breaststroke, freestyle and butterfly.
Petoe was the overall top performer on the first day of the CSUB Sprint Classic hosted by Cal State Bakersfield in late October.
Petoe has traveled a long journey to become a Spartan.
She started to think about competing in America in her last year of high school in a small town in Switzerland, where she said it’s complicated to combine competing and going to school.
“California has always been my dream since I was a child so I talked to [Coach Sage Hopkins] and I liked talking to him, so I decided to come here,” she said.
She led the rest of the board with an overall score of 44 in the CSUB Sprint Classic, where she swam one medley and three individual races.
Petoe started off with a runner-up finish in the 50-yard breaststroke and third place in the 100-yard medley.
Through Petoe’s trio, SJSU picked up 10 top-10 finishes while in Bakersfield.
Petoe swam the 200-yard individual medley coming in at 2:10.93 in her first meet as a Spartan at Fresno State’s Roadrunner Invitational, helping the Spartans finish fourth overall.
Coach Hopkins said he recalled first communicating with Petoe a couple days before Thanksgiving in 2018.
“I vividly remember it was a couple days before Thanksgiving last year I received an email and we very quickly set up a video call,” Hopkins said. “It seemed like it was a really good fit right away, so it was a fairly quick process from that point. We very quickly sent a scholarship offer and she quickly accepted it.”
Petoe began swimming at the age of five, after following in her family’s footsteps and being surrounded by the pool environment from a
young age.
Petoe said it was something that was in her blood already, since her parents were water polo players and encouraged her to pursue the sport.
“My parents always supported me and they always told me that I need to do something that makes me happy and swimming always made me happy,” Petoe said. “Of course I have always had difficult times, but I always
loved it.”
Despite the pressures that occur with playing at this kind of athletic level, she said her enjoyment of the sport eases the tension.
She said swimming has given her a lot, including the opportunity to travel and to be here as a Spartan today.
The sport has made her a stronger person, Petoe said and provided her with the ability to overcome hard times, just like in competing.
Hopkins said that one of the things that jumped out to him about Petoe’s character was her drive and focus both academically and athletically.
“As a biochem[istry] major she’s very academically focused and one of the things we talk about with the team is that nothing happens in a vacuum and things tend to be focused holistically on everything we do. She’s a very good role model in that regard,” Hopkins said.
Being far from home has presented some challenges for Petoe, but her coaches and teammates have made SJSU feel like home.
She said that no matter what kind of day she’s had, she can always run to her team and coaches for support in the same way her family would.
“I’m really proud to be a part of this team because I’m surrounded by really amazing people I mean I really feel like being part of a family and even if my family is far because they’re in Switzerland,” she said.
Petoe said she enjoys competing in America because of the comradery - one she can’t find in Switzerland.
She said she just aims to help the team achieve their best and stay focused, mentally and physically.
The team’s first big meet will be the Pac-12 Invitational in Seattle late December, which Hopkins said they’re heavily training for in order to gear up for conference championships in February.
Hopkins said they’re excited to watch Petoe developing into a national contender and to see her perform for the Swiss national team.
“We’re tickled pink to have Rebecca here, she’s been a great addition to the program and really looking forward to four years with her,” Hopkins said.