Modest is the perfect word to describe Joan Vollero, a tri-captain on Tufts' women's swimming team. The senior, who only joined the squad last year, demurred when asked questions about her accomplishments. She'd rather talk about her teammates.
When further asked about serving as captain, she said it gave her confidence but also that she was "really honored to be voted" as one of the team's leaders. And despite her two-year hiatus from athletics at Tufts, that distinction came after a lengthy career in swimming.
Coming out of Sacred Heart High School in Hamden, Connecticut, Vollero was not sure if she would swim in college at all. While in high school, she swam the same races that she does today: the 50, 100, and 200-meter backstroke and the 50 and 100 butterfly. In high school, Vollero said, she was a "decent" swimmer.
"I knew I wanted to swim in college, but it was not my priority. A division III school like Tufts was more my speed," Vollero said. "I talked to [Tufts coach Nancy Bigelow] senior year, but I was not recruited."
Upon arriving at Tufts, Vollero found herself floating towards the team. She participated in captain's practices for a while, but soon abandoned the venture in favor of new hobbies. She even spent some time as a Daily staff writer.
It was two years before Vollero would make her way back to the swimming team.
"I think I was more settled at Tufts. Freshman year, I was tired of swimming, I had been swimming forever and was burnt out," Vollero said. "Junior year, I realized I wasn't going to go abroad and was disappointed. I wanted to do something new at Tufts. I wanted to do something I had never tried, but something I knew I could make friends doing. It feels good to be on a team."
Once she made the decision to return to swimming, Vollero had to recommit herself to a sport she had not competed in since high school. While many Tufts students were enjoying their junior year in another country, Vollero was reacquainting herself with the swimming pool.
"It took me a while to get back into shape, but by NESCACs I had my times pretty close to high school," Vollero said. "I was really pleased on how I was doing."
Vollero has concentrated on tough workouts this season to achieve success before graduation. The team started practicing five days a week, two hours a day, after returning from a trip to Barbados two months ago. Since then, Vollero said, she's turned up the energy.
"I figure if I'm going to be in the pool for two hours, I might as well work hard," Vollero said. "I try to keep a positive attitude about practice even if it's difficult or I'm in pain."
Still, she said her times haven't increased correspondingly with more intense workouts over the last couple months. "I was really disappointed because I was working hard and my times were not where I wanted them to be, with the amount of effort I was putting in," she said. At the NESCAC meet, she said she surprised herself by dropping six seconds in the 200 backs and two seconds in the 100.
She did not take home a victory at that meet, but made it to the finals in the 200 backstroke and the 100 backstroke, and said she was pleased with her performances.
When Vollero is not in the pool, she is no fish out of the water in terms of community involvement. She is a participant in Kid's Day and a double major in child development and English with a communications minor. She said her plans for next year including working in the television field in New York City.
Vollero has great faith that the team will be strong in years to come because of the freshman class, her fellow captains, and coach Bigelow's care for the team. "The other captains have been really supportive and I'm really glad I met them," Vollero said. "The freshman class is amazing, talented, and motivated. They have great seasons coming up."
