Diving in with Maggie Erwin and Sam Kennedy

Under the Surface with Maggie

Major: studying in Carlson School of Management
Favorite hobby: going driving with friends
Favorite TV show: Friends and Grey's Anatomy
Favorite musical artist: Ed Sheeran and Billie Eilish
Favorite meal: burger and Caesar salad
Biggest fear: drowning
Person you'd most like to meet: Zac Efron
Dream vacation spot: Bora Bora
Asking Santa for: shoes and sweatpants

Under the Surface with Sam

Major: considering Sport Management
Favorite hobby: watching movies
Favorite movie: Talladega Nights
Favorite musical artist: Juice Wrld
Favorite meal: steak and potatoes
Strangest talent: longboarding
Biggest fear: spiders
Person you'd most like to meet: Ryan Reynolds
Dream vacation spot: Scotland
Asking Santa for: socks
Memorable Christmas gift: when my parents redid the basement into a man cave

With the 2019-20 swimming and diving season nearing its midpoint, 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.

This week we dive in with freshmen Maggie Erwin and Sam Kennedy, who just wrapped up an action-packed first half of December via the Minnesota Invite. Erwin hails from Boise, Idaho, while Kennedy is a Maple Grove, Minn. native.

Similar to her sister and current Gopher, Abbey Erwin, the younger Erwin had an accomplished long distance career at Boise High School before trekking to the U. As a senior, Erwin was a state runner-up in both the 200 free and 500 free. Erwin also won the 2017 OR CAT Oregon Senior Open Championship in the 500 free while competing for Boise YMCA.

During his time at Wayzata High School, Kennedy was a two-time All-American in both the 100 back and 200 medley relay. In 2019, Kennedy added the 100 fly to his list of All-American accolades. The Minnesotan was also a three-time All-State selection and a two-time Section 5AA Swimmer of the Year.

GopherSports: Why did you choose to attend the University of Minnesota?
Erwin: "I wasn't really looking here until pretty late in the recruiting process. My first time coming here was to visit my sister. When I was here, I kept telling my mom how much I liked things and so we ended up meeting with [head coach Kelly Kremer] and then we set up a recruiting trip. I committed a month later. It all went really fast, but I really liked the coaches and the team atmosphere, and then obviously there's a really good academic reputation."
Kennedy: "I chose Minnesota because I was a little late in my decision to swim in college and they really reached out and I felt comfortable with the team and the coaches. I'm from Minnesota, so it's a lot easier to make the transition. I think it's every Minnesotan's dream to swim for the U of M."

GS: When did you first start swimming and when did you know that you wanted to compete collegiately?
Erwin: "Swimming runs in my family. My dad is a swimmer and he swam for Cal. Obviously, my sister, too. I joined my club team when I was six and I stayed on the same team for 12 years. I was probably 11 or 12 when I started taking off and getting into distance, which is what I swim now. I think that I had that young, take-off talent peak situation. From there, it was just really important to me and I took it pretty seriously."
Kennedy: "I started swimming in my 8^th grade year. I kind of just joined the high school team because my brother was on it. I couldn't do a flip-turn and stuff like that, so I learned in eighth grade. It was in states my junior year, one of my coaches came up to me and said, 'you should probably consider swimming in college.' The summer after my junior year, I started looking."

GS: What is your favorite thing about being a Gopher so far?
Erwin: "I think there's a lot of pride and it's kind of cool. For me, club swimming was bigger than high school swimming and it's cool to have my biggest swimming endeavor and my school integrated for the first time."
Kennedy: "The team. Being able to call myself a Gopher along with my fellow teammates is a wonderful thing."

GS: What would you say is your biggest strength in the pool and what is one thing you're hoping to improve this year?
Erwin: "I'm definitely better at pulling. I'm working on my kicking. There's a lot of kicking here that I'm getting used to. When it comes to racing, endurance is a strength that I've always had. Just working on rounding things out and making myself a better swimmer as a whole."
Kennedy: "I'd say my biggest strength is probably my kick, my underwaters. I'm definitely more of a leg-based swimmer. I'm trying to work my upper body more. We've been working a lot on pulling and stuff in practice, which helps a lot for my swimming, specifically."

GS: What is the most memorable moment of your career?
Erwin: "All those moments where I was with my team and we were all excited for the same reason. When you get to those end-of-season meets, like Y-Nats and high school states, the team atmosphere and getting really excited for one person and celebrating one another's successes."
Kennedy: "I think mine is the first practice that I ever had – eighth grade. I cramped up in my leg. I never cramped up in my entire life. I didn't know what to do. My teammates love to tell this story, by the way. I was just sitting there, holding onto the lane line, yelling because I couldn't do anything. I had to have a few guys drag me out. I learned how to stretch my calf after that."

GS: Who has been the biggest influence or inspiration to you as a swimmer?
Erwin: "I'd have to say my dad because he swam his whole life and still swims today. He's the one who got my sister and me into the sport. If it wasn't for him, I probably would have never pushed myself as hard and I learned so much from him. I think he made me into the swimmer I am."
Kennedy: "I would probably say David Plummer. He was the first coach I ever had and an alum [at Minnesota]. It was really cool to jump right in with a future Olympian. He really gave me the love for swimming and pushed me to try harder in practice. I still think of it today."

GS: Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
Erwin: "In the past two years, I've learned that I really benefit from coffee the morning of. If I'm in a hotel, then I just get the hotel coffee. If I'm here, I'll usually go somewhere and get an iced vanilla latte. That just helps me a lot with my races. It gets me awake and buzzing."
Kennedy: "In high school, I used to eat two pints of ice cream before each meet. The night before, I'd eat two pints and then I would swim. I haven't done that here yet, but that used to be my high school thing. I'm trying to figure out what the college routine is now."

GS: What was it like to be a part of one of the fastest mid-season competitions ever in the Minnesota Invite as a freshman?
Erwin: "[Coach Kremer] was talking to us in our team meeting this week about how it was the fastest mid-season invite that's ever happened. We witnessed American records and there were just so many insane things that were happening. In one sense, it's humbling to see how fast people get. This is how fast people are. At the same time, it's cool that we're a part of that and we're in the same environment."
Kennedy: "It was crazy. I'm a really big times guy. I love to watch these people swim and figure out what are the top times in the nation. To be there and see that, it was crazy. It was definitely the biggest meet I've ever been to, probably even watched. So, to be right on deck and swimming against these guys, it's crazy to experience that first-hand and it's definitely a different light to things than watching a live stream of it. It definitely pushed me a lot harder to swim faster myself. Just very motivating."

GS: What are you looking forward to most the rest of the season?
Erwin: "I'm really looking forward to Big Tens to see what everyone can do as a team. We have our training trip coming up, which is going to be really exciting. There will definitely be some hard training, but I think it's going to be a good chance for us to get to know each other and get closer as a team."
Kennedy: "I'm looking forward to continuing to grow as a swimmer and getting closer to the team. I feel very close with them already, but after that mid-season invite, buckling down and doing some hard training with a lot of my close friends will be a lot of fun and help to build those bonds stronger."

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

Abbey Erwin

Maggie Erwin

Sam Kennedy