Georgetown senior Bryan Evangelista’s swimming career has been plagued by injuries. Coming out of high school he struggled with a nagging shoulder injury and this season he broke his hand. Through all this adversity, Evangelista has remained a positive and driving force behind the Georgetown swimming and diving program.
Evangelista came from a rigorous swimming program at St. Anthony’s in Northport, N.Y. to Georgetown’s program, which does not offer any scholarships to its swimmers and yet competes in the Big East conference, where all but one other team offer scholarships. Evangelista was sufficiently impressed with the Georgetown program that he was willing to join a less-funded team.
“I chose to come to Georgetown because of the way the team treated me when I was here,” said Evangelista. “I was impressed about how close they all were.”
His injuries have not hampered him, but have made him a stronger competitor. Evangelista fractured his hand on Oct. 26 in a meet against Loyola College in Baltimore. The very next week, he finished first in the 200-yard freestyle event against Delaware and Georgia Southern.
“Many people give up when they get injured, but not Bryan,” said Head Coach Bethany Bower. “He is willing to sacrifice for the team. He wanted to be there for every meet; he has never let his handicap get the best of him.”
In addition to Evangelista’s personal struggle with injuries, the team has faced some significant challenges as a whole. They compete against teams like Big East rival Boston College and No. 18 Pittsburgh, which offer scholarships and attract a stronger group of swimmers.
“Every team in the Big East is tough,” said Evangelista. “It’s frustrating because most of the swimmers in the league are pre-Olympic level and if we were in a less competitive league like the Patriot League, we would be on top.”
Evangelista’s optimism has helped make him a leader of the Georgetown Swimming and Diving team. Despite his injuries, he has still broken two pool records and placed qualifying times for the Big East Championships during both his sophomore and junior years. This past weekend, he placed second in the 50-yard freestyle and first in the 100-yard butterfly against St. Peter’s, helping the Hoyas sweep the Peacocks 123-24.
“In the pool, I lead by example,” said Evangelista. “I also like to be a good listener to my other teammates and [I like to be] a good friend. I think that is important too.”
Bower admitted that because of Evangelista’s injuries he has to hold back on certain training activities, but that he still maintains a mental intensity which has helped the team immensely during the season.
“Bryan’s been a tremendous leader,” said Bower. “He has a positive attitude, he’s a fierce competitor and he really gets the team going. His spirit really brings out the best in the whole team.”
Evangelista is not currently planning to swim competitively after college, but he wants to return to the pool eventually.
“I may take a few years off and maybe come back in one the leagues for older swimmers,” he said.
Perhaps he’ll finally have a chance to let those injuries heal.
