Lily Glaeser decided to pursue swimming when she was a freshman in high school. She had played a lot of other sports when she was younger but never really had a passion for one until she started.
After her first high school season, she decided to join a club team so she could swim year-round and become better.
“My friend was a swimmer, and I thought I’d give it a try after that,” Glaeser said. “I couldn’t give it up.”
Glaeser, who is a senior at Eastern Michigan University, chose EMU instead of the University of Rochester and the University of Cincinnati. She chose Eastern because she believed it was the perfect balance of swimming and academics. It turned out to be a good choice because she believes her swimming has improved greatly in many ways.
“Many aspects of my swimming have improved because of the program here,” Glaeser said. “Whether it is a technical aspect of my stroke, my breath control or physical strength, the coaches, day in and day out, have pushed me to be better.”
The team is something Glaeser enjoys about swimming at EMU. She enjoys how the support, trust and respect built between her teammates can become a good strong friendship. The competition is another thing that makes the team great. She believes the atmosphere is competitive. So if you don’t work hard and smart, it’s going to be hard to keep up and be successful in meets and at conference.
One of Glaeser’s greatest accomplishments is being captain of the swim team. She enjoys being reaffirmed that she has the respect and trust of her teammates and that means she has been doing something right.
Glaeser has placed well in many events as a freestyle swimmer, including a fifth place in both the 50-yard and
100 freestyle events in last season. During the 2009-2010 season, she placed 14th in the 50 freestyle and 13th in the 100 freestyle at the EMU invitational. She also took seventh in the 100 freestyle against Purdue. In the 2008-2009 season she placed eighth in the 200 freestyle relay, and finished fourth in the 400 medley relay at the EMU Invitational.
While attending Brunswick High School in Brunswick, Ohio, Glaeser was a four-year varsity letter winner and was named an All-American in her senior season. She made districts in four events (50 and 100 free, 200 and 400 free relay) during her junior and senior seasons.
Outside of swimming, Glaeser also tries to really keep her focus on her studies. She is a double major and is studying biology and chemistry. In the future she plans to attend graduate school and study plant biology. When she is not studying or swimming she enjoys playing games like euchre, and carcassonne. One thing most people
don’t know about her is she has never been outside of the country.
