Diving in with Isaac Barrera and Lillianna Brooks

Under the Surface with Isaac

Major: considering Business
Favorite hobby (outside of sports): mountain biking
Favorite musical artist: AC/DC
Favorite TV show/movie: Interstellar
Favorite meal: steak dinner
Biggest fear: the unknown
Describe self in three words: hard-working, thoughtful, considerate
Person you'd most like to meet: Elon Munsk
Favorite item at Thanksgiving: pecan pie
Dream vacation spot: Italy
Sport you'd like to try but never have: hockey

Under the Surface with Lillianna

Favorite hobby (outside of sports): traveling
Favorite TV show/movie: The Crown
Favorite meal: pizza
Strangest talent: making a dolphin noise
Biggest fear: bees
Describe self in three words: quirky, happy, loyal
Person you'd most like to meet: Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Favorite item at Thanksgiving: cranberry sauce
Dream vacation spot: Rwanda (to see the mountain gorillas)
Sport you'd like to try but never have: fencing

With the 2019-20 swimming and diving season well underway, GopherSports.com continues to sit down which each of Minnesota's 24 newcomers in order to get to know them better as the Gophers progress through the present campaign.

In advance of a pivotal Big Ten dual with Wisconsin, this week's Q&A is headlined by freshmen Isaac Barrera and Lillianna Brooks.

Barrera, a 2019 graduate from New Braunfels High School in Texas, is a freestyle/butterfly specialist and a four-time finalist at the USA Swimming Future Championships. In 2019, he finished as a state runner-up in the 200 IM and was a regional champion in both the 500 free and 200 IM. He also boasts the title of 2018 NISCA All-American.

Brooks has had a busy past few years as well. The 2019 Saint Mary's Academy graduate has multiple top-three finishes in not only the Colorado State Championships, but the Senior Long Course Championships. She is now looking to continue that podium dominance here for the Maroon and Gold.

GopherSports: Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
Barrera: "I love the location up north. Being close to the cities and being a business major, it's a great place to be with all the businesses and Fortune 500 companies here. When I came on my visit, I loved the team and felt really at home here. It just felt like a great place to be."
Brooks: "I came on my recruiting trip and I didn't really know what to expect. I just really loved the atmosphere of the team, the positivity and how close everybody was. I was talking with [head coach Kelly Kremer] and he talked about how the team is just super happy and close with one another like a family. I really loved that aspect."

GS: When did you first start swimming and when did you know that you wanted to compete collegiately?
Barrera: "I started swimming summer league when I was seven and when I was in seventh grade, I decided I'd like to go year-round and possibly swim collegiately."
Brooks: "I was nine when I started taking lessons to learn how to swim. I was around 13 when I got a little better and started thinking about college, and I just progressed from there."

GS: What has been the biggest element of the transition to college for you?
Barrera: "The biggest thing is the increased training load with doubles every day now. I used to do a lot less in the mornings back home."
Brooks: "My graduating class had 57 people, so it's been a pretty big jump. I liked the move, though. It's been good."

GS: What would you say is your biggest strength in the pool and what is one thing you're hoping to improve this year?
Barrera: "I would say my biggest strength would be the determination to just put in work and get everything done. My biggest weakness right now would be my underwater dolphin kicks. I'm looking forward to working on those."
Brooks: "I think my underwaters are something I could get better at. I can already tell with just a couple weeks of training that they've gotten significantly better and it just feels easier. One thing I felt good about coming in was my kicking, which is good because we kick a lot at practice."

GS: Who has been your biggest mentor or inspiration throughout your career?
Barrera: "One of my summer league coaches from when I was 14, Sean Duckworth. He used to be a former swimmer himself, and he was definitely a big inspiration to me."
Brooks: "I would say Missy Franklin. She's also from Colorado, so there's that legacy from when she was in high school and she holds all the records and state records. She's always just been there."

GS: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
Barrera: "During the meet, I like to eat a lot of applesauce. Cherry is the best flavor. Right before the race, I like to slap the block a lot."
Brooks: "I'm pretty straightforward. I don't listen to music and I don't talk to people. It's more just like getting ready. I talk to officials and timers, because they're just there."

GS: What are your goals for the rest of the current season?
Barrera: "I think just trying to look for a third event in the 200 fly. I want to continue to improve in that by just learning how to swim that race strategy, and then working at the 200 IM and 400 IM. I think I can contribute a lot for the team there."
Brooks: "Well, we have Wisconsin this weekend and that's always the big meet. We want to beat Wisconsin over anybody. It's been a little weird for me, because I had my normal events in club and here I just do whatever they tell me because I want to do my part to help. Moving forward, I just want to score more points in duals to help out. Relays are really important to me because that's for the team, so I want to give my best performance on relays."

Follow Swim & Dive

Don't miss any of the action from the course. Stay connected to Gopher Swim & Dive!

Support Swim & Dive

Support the University of Minnesota Swim & Dive program. Your support helps our student-athletes succeed athletically, academically, and socially. It takes just seconds to make a monthly or one-time donation. Thank you for your support! Give Now

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Isaac Barrera