On an average weekday morning, senior Emma McCarthy wakes up at 5:15 a.m and grabs a quick bite to eat before driving to the College of Marin to do her weight circuit and dryland routine. After a hour-long rigorous workout, she’s off to school.

McCarthy, a competitive swimmer, verbally committed to swim for the University of Arizona on Sept. 7.

On Aug. 28, McCarthy traveled to Arizona for a recruiting trip.

“I went there not having super high expectations, and I just fell in love,” McCarthy said. “After an hour of being with the team, I felt like I was already a part of it, and I got along with the coaches. They are goofy and fun, but they mean business.”

By the beginning of the summer, McCarthy had narrowed down her choice to five schools: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, Vanderbilt University, University of Michigan, and University of Arizona.

Despite choosing University of Arizona in the end, McCarthy had barely even considered it at the start of the summer, and it was the only school of the five that she hadn’t yet visited. However, McCarthy said the final decision eventually came down to Arizona and Vanderbilt.

“Arizona had expressed a lot of interest for some reason because I was actually one of the slower swimmers that they were recruiting, but for some reason they really, really wanted me on their team, and I was like, ‘Well, they have one of the best programs in the country. They are top five,’” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said that after her recruiting trip she was offered a spot on the Arizona team on the condition that she accepted by Sunday, Sept. 7.

“You have this feeling and I don’t really know how to describe it, but you just kind of know,” McCarthy said.

Prior to making the decision to attend University of Arizona, McCarthy took a recruiting trip to Vanderbilt to compare the two schools. Once in Nashville, Tenn. McCarthy quickly realized that she clicked better with the Arizona team and coach.

“I came back [from Nashville] on Sunday the seventh, and I had a fifteen minute connection in San Diego,” McCarthy said. “I called [Arizona assistant coach] Brandy Collins in that fifteen minute connection because I was just way too excited.”

From freshman year to senior year, McCarthy has cut down six seconds on her 100 freestyle, 8.78 seconds on her 200 freestyle, and 20 seconds on her 500 freestyle, a huge drop for just four years.

McCarthy has also traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, and Orlando, Florida to compete at the National Club Swimming Association (NCSA) Junior Nationals. She also went to Greensboro, N.C. for the more competitive meet, Speedo Junior Nationals.

McCarthy has been swimming since she was seven years old. However, swimming wasn’t her first sport. McCarthy was a competitive runner when she was younger, but she had to take time off from running after an injury in seventh grade.

After the injury, McCarthy joined North Bay Aquatics, a more competitive club team.

By freshman year, McCarthy had moved up to the North Bay senior team coached by  Ken DeMont and Don Swartz.

“Ken and Don have taught me just so much and they are two people who really, really care about what they are doing,” McCarthy said. “They’re very involved and they get to know the swimmers on more than just a swimmer-coach level.”

Swartz specifically has been a mentor to McCarthy.

“Don is probably one of the most inspirational people in my life– he is like Yoda,” she said. “He knows everything. I think anybody you talk to about Don will say nothing but good things about him.”

McCarthy will continue to be coached by a DeMont next year since Ken DeMont’s brother, Rick, is the head coach at the University of Arizona. Additionally, Swartz coached Rick DeMont to an Olympic gold medal and world record in the 1970s.

McCarthy’s goal for the rest of senior year is to improve her times.

“I found that in practices I have an added motivation now that I’m committed to such a fast team,” McCarthy said. “I’m really competitive, very competitive, and I like to be the best. I know that at Arizona it’s going to take a lot more work than I can even fathom right now, so I might as well start now.”