Tammy Jones: A Love For The Water
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Swimming and Diving
Nov. 25, 2003
Hockey players love the sound of sharp skates slicing across the ice. Baseball players love the feeling of bat against ball. Michigan State swimmer, junior Tammy Jones, loves the feeling of water against her skin as she swiftly glides through the pool.
"There's just something about the water that I love," said Jones. ""I started swimming when I was eight years old. I got a pamphlet through my school and I thought it would be fun to go play in the water. I handed the pamphlet to my mom and remember saying that I would really love to go swim."
Finding her true passion and talent didn't take long for Jones.
"I got in the water for my first lesson and I was hooked," said Jones. "My very first meet I brought home a fourth-place ribbon."
Although Jones' parents played a big part in her involvement with swimming, it was her grandfather who made her realize Michigan State is where she needed to be to pursue her swimming career.
"My grandfather died my junior year of high school and he was always really into my swimming," said Jones. "I asked myself, where would he want me to go to school? And I knew I had to come to Michigan State and compete in the Big Ten Conference."
"When I came to visit and I really liked the girls and the coaches, I knew this was where I wanted to be," continued Jones.
Head coach Matt Gianiodis sees Jones' potential and is looking forward to watching her flourish over the next two years.
As an underclassman, Jones quickly made a name for herself. Only a sophomore in the Big Ten Championships last year, Jones broke three school records in the 100 butterfly, 200 medley relay and the 200 free relay.
"Starting the season off as a junior she already holds six varsity records," said Gianiodis. "She has the potential to be the best swimmer in the school's history."
"My favorite event is the butterfly and when I swam the 100 fly at Big Ten's last year, it was the third record that we broke that night," stated Jones.
In the 200 medley relay, the quartet finished in record time with a mark of 1:44.37, which bested the old school record (1:45.04 - 1997) by nearly a full second.
When Jones and the Michigan State 800 freestyle relay team finished in 7:33.20 - a mere .020 off of the school record - Jones, led off the relay and set a new school record time of 1:50.04 in the first 200 yards. She bested the previous mark of 1:50.31, which was set in 1997.
"I know the girl that held the record before me, and I really admired her," admitted Jones. "In fact, she was my idol when I got into the program, so when I broke the record, I was almost in disbelief."
Just because Jones keeps breaking records, doesn't mean that she has obtained all her goals - she just set new ones.
"This season I would really like to continue dropping time off all my events," said Jones. "I am very interested in getting my times down because I want to qualify for the Olympic trials, which also means qualifying for NCAA's."
Gianiodis has no doubt that Jones can be a significant point contributor at the national championships.
"As a staff, our hope is that when she leaves the program, she'll realize the full impact of her accomplishments," said Gianiodis.
"I remember asking a senior record-holder one time, 'how do you do it, how do you swim so fast?'" said Jones.
Maybe now, after breaking six varsity school records and with NCAA scoring potential, newcomers will be asking Jones that very same question.
