The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Q&A with Susana Escobar
01.30.2007 | Women's Swimming and Diving
A native of Queretaro, Mexico, freshman Susana Escobar came to the University of Texas with a taste of international competition after winning three gold medals at the Central America. After arriving on the Forty Acres a week into the fall semester, Escobar has wasted no time in making her contributions to the 11th-ranked Longhorns. Escobar recently sat down with TexasSports.com to answer some questions about her background.
How did you get started swimming? I started swimming when I was six. We were on a family trip and I almost drowned! If it wasn't for my sister, I wouldn't have been here today. After that experience, I started taking swimming lessons, but it was only until I was 13 that I started to train regularly and swim competitively.
Did you play another sport growing up? I did some tae kwon do for two months. I stopped at white belt, but other than that, I didn't compete in any other sports, except for swimming.
Describe the role of swimming back home in Mexico. Swimming in Mexico is not a big deal. You don't have college swimming or college athletics programs; it is either school or sports. You can't combine them. Growing up, it was a challenge to balance both. We didn't have a high school team, so I was swimming with my club team and going to school at different times of the day.
How did you end up at Texas? When I was swimming in Mexico, I was training with (former UT assistant coach) Jack Roach, an American coach, and we would compete in the United States a lot. I was swimming here at the American Short Course Championships last year, and I did well enough to get (former UT head coach) Jill Sterkel's attention. She eventually offered me a scholarship, and I really liked the school, so I thought about it and wanted to come. When I found out about two months later that there was a coaching change, I dropped the idea of coming to Texas. But, (current UT head coach) Kim Brackin contacted Jack and came down to Mexico. She talked to me and urged me to reconsider my decision. I thought about it some more, I visited campus, and I liked it, so I decided to sign. I made my decision in mid-August, and I had to work on all the legal papers before I could actually start, so I got here one week after classes started.
What is your favorite part about Austin? I like everything about this city. I don't even know where to start. I love the team and the coaches, but beyond that, I love Austin a lot. I really like downtown because there are so many outdoor and indoor activities.
Have you had a chance to eat some Tex-Mex food? Does it compare to what you eat back in Mexico? My teammates love Tex-Mex so I pretty much have it every week, if not twice a week. Obviously it isn't the same, but it is still really good.
You are the youngest of six siblings. Was it hard to separate from your family in order to come to Texas? It felt really weird separating from my family, whom I've lived with for the past 19 years. All my brothers and sisters are all still living in the city, and we would see each other a lot back at home. I am the first one to officially leave home, and I miss my family a lot, but I talk to my parents every night.
Does everyone in your family swim? I have two brothers (Jose Juan, 26 and Luis, 21) and three sisters (Carmen, 25; Mercedes, 23 and Priscy, 20). Two of them swim, and two of them are my coaches. Mercedes is the only one not involved with swimming. She just goes to college. In the very beginning, we all swam, but over time, we just ended up liking it. My parents didn't even swim, let alone play a sport, but for some reason most of us all ended up swimming.
What is the hardest adjustment you have had to make in college? The hardest part is being able to combine academics and swimming. After high school, I took a year off, so going back to school is kind of hard. During that year, all I concentrated on was swimming, so I've been learning to manage my time. I want to major is psychology, but I don't know what I want to do with it yet.
What is the main difference between international competition and college level swimming? The pressure to do well is bigger at international meets because you're representing your country. In college, we have a team that works together and works off of each other. I also think collegiate swimming is more fun because I am racing against people close to my age, and the competition here is harder.