Haley Nimmons | Staff Writer
Salve Regina University’s club swim team is easy to join with no previous experience required. Over the course of the semester, we will be highlighting a member of the swim team each week. This week, our senior captain, Kayla Brundage, takes the stage.
Kayla is a senior studying psychology from Putnam Valley, NY. She chose to come to Salve because “it was a comfortable distance from home, the location was immaculate, and they had a club swim team so I could continue my passions.” Kayla started swimming in 7th grade, and although her favorite events have changed since she began, the events she currently loves to swim are mainly fly events, including the 50 fly in the medley relay, 100 fly, and the 200 IM. Her favorite strokes are breaststroke and butterfly.
When asked about her greatest achievement in swimming so far, it was hard for her to choose. “I feel like this sport and I have grown together. I feel like all of the growth I have done within the sport and learning what it means to be a leader, a captain, and a teammate has been such a huge part of my life that I can carry with me beyond the pool. The swim program at Salve needed some development when we first got here, and I feel like everything I have learned about being a leader in this sport helped me and my fellow captains grow the program at Salve. I feel like this is one of my greater achievements in the sport to date.” Kayla has made great strides for the swim club, especially since becoming captain in 2022. She has promoted the team on social media, hosted and pushed events in team bonding, began team-wide dryland weight lifting practices, endorsed a team-wide media day, formal, pasta dinners and other fun events. She has worked hard to advocate for the club and gain some recognition.
For the first time as a club, Salve Swim participated in a Swim Across America event in Narragansett on September 7, 2024. SAA is a fundraising program developed to support cancer research, working towards discovering treatments and cures. This was our first time being involved in this program and Kayla believes it was a wonderful opportunity for the team. Our team ambassador for the program, Kaylee Collins, went out of her way to open this door to us. Salve Swim usually does sunrise open ocean swims at the beginning of the season as a way to get to know each other, but being able to do it for a cause made it worth so much more. Kayla recalls the event:
“There were tons of other teams both locally, and some from a little farther away. Providence College, who we swim against bi-annually, was basically running the event and we had so much fun participating and seeing what other teams were involved. I hope this is the beginning of a new era for Salve Swim Club and hopefully an always-open door for us. It’s one thing to join a team and be part of a family like this one, it’s another thing to be a part of something bigger. This was a truly inspirational experience for us and I seriously cannot thank Kaylee enough for doing this for us.”
I gave Kayla a moment to reflect on her experience with Salve Swim Club over the last several years, and she had many thoughts to share:
“I have been a captain since my sophomore year. If I may be transparent, being a collegiate club captain has a bit more of a learning curve than being a captain at the high school level. In high school, everything is being done for you by the coach, and the captains are really just the point people for the sport. Your job at the high school level is being there for everyone, leading at meets, and facilitating team culture. Being a captain at the collegiate club level means you do all of the above and more. You don’t just deal with your athletes, you deal with the club administrative board and the athletics board as well. This is quite difficult because there is a bit of a lack of communication between the two branches we have to go through, so the liaison position falls to the captains. Not only are you managing your team and making sure everyone has all the information they need about practices, events, carpooling, team bonding, organizing pasta parties, meets, and transportation, etc. but you have to work with higher-ups in athletics, as well as members of SGA to make sure everything we’re doing is considered within the boundaries of what were allowed to do as a club sport. A lot more goes into it than meets the eye and can sometimes be very overwhelming.
“I feel so lucky to have my fellow captains, Lilla Sharman and Abby Wiemken, who have been able to step up to the plate and be some of the most amazing co-captains I have worked with. Our coach, Sam Steen, has been amazing to us because of his diverse knowledge of swimming, and his passion for this team. We are so lucky to have him as our coach. We also just took on a new assistant coach and team advisor, Fiona Joyce, who is also extremely knowledgeable and passionate about swim, and she is a huge asset for us and our growing team. Fiona was recommended to us by Pam Heroux, who has been one of the most supportive and knowledgeable assets to our advancement. She has stepped into a new role at Salve, and so she led us to Fiona, who is the perfect addition to our team and we are so lucky to have her. It took a while to get to where we are, and we are still growing our program, but being able to be in a leadership position with some of these amazing people makes being a captain for this team so much easier than it has been in the past.
“I can’t believe that this is my last season with this team, but I feel so lucky to have been able to take on this position as captain. It is not everything it seems at face value, but once you understand the ins and outs of administration, and you’re lucky enough to have a team of amazing people by your side, anything can be possible. This team means absolutely everything to me. It has been hard work being captain. We had to do a lot of work from the ground up, but I feel like it helped me get to know the program inside and out and has made me a better captain, leader, and person overall.
“This team has helped me make some of the best connections, friends, and opportunities that I have ever had the pleasure of participating in. I feel like I always give my everything to this team, which might seem draining, but it’s really not because I feel like everything I give, I get back. This is truly an amazing group of people and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love all of my teammates with all my heart, and leaving them is going to be one of the hardest things I will have to do after graduation.”
After graduation this May, Kayla is hoping to attend grad school for a program in Forensic Mental Health Counseling. Following this, she is looking to gain real-world experience in the field while attempting to achieve a PhD.
Quick Facts About Kayla:
Meet Hype Up Songs:
“Anything by Rihanna, rap, or rock music. I look for songs that have a high energy but also have a certain tempo so I can visualize myself swimming my events to them. Fly and breaststroke are both very tempo-based so this visualization is extremely helpful to ground me before swimming my events.”
Best Pre-Meet Snacks
“Nature Valley Protein Bars, Gatorade, and fruit with potassium in it so our muscles don’t cramp up.”
After a meet, Kayla’s favorite thing is…
“The bus ride home. Everyone is relaxed and happy, and a little bit tired. But never too tired for bus karaoke. Spirits are usually always high after a meet, but the bus ride home always makes me feel so connected to my team.”
What are you looking forward to this season?
“I am looking forward to getting to know our team. We did a lot of recruiting over the summer and all of the girls are so excited for the season. I am excited to see what kind of swimmers we have and how they will fit into our team. It is weird to be on a team for a while because of how different it is every year, but I am so excited for this season because all of these amazing people we have been able to bring onto this team are so passionate about being here. This is one of the biggest teams we have had since our foundation in 2011, and I am so excited to watch everyone grow and thrive.”
