Alex Nuyianes and Ashley Martin committed to their collegiate athletic careers in December of their Senior Year. Alex will be joining the Swimming program at Carson Newman in Jefferson City, Tennessee and Ashley will be joining the Crew program at  University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Alex and Ashley have been working very hard both in the classroom and on the water their high school years and prior. Their hard work and perseverance has finally paid off and here is what our girls have to say about their achievement.

How did you start your scholarship process?

Alex’s Highschool coach recommended her to the coach at Carson Newman, once she began speaking with the coach everything began to fall into place.

Ashley attended a crew day event especially for juniors. She was pulled aside to speak with the UCF coaches who liked what they saw. After some serious decision making and visits to UCF, Ashley decided that this was the best place for her.

Did you receive any other offers from other schools?

Alex was already comfortable and set on going to Carson Newman, so she wasn’t too keen on seeking other scholarship opportunities.

Ashley had a tough decision. She was faced with four offers and narrowed it down to UCF and Stetson. She ultimately chose UCF because the school was the best fit for her.

Why is this school the best fit for you?

Alex is thrilled about the small student body, student to professor ratio, the inviting college town, the change of environment, but most importantly the swim team and coaches.

Ashley feels most at home at UCF because of the close proximity to her family, large and diverse student body, D1 and the welcoming teammates and coaches.

What differences do you expect from high school to college league?

Alex  is very serious about this new level of competition because she expects stricter guidelines and rules because this is the big time, and they can take the scholarship away.

Ashley is anticipating stricter guidelines, intense workouts, stronger team participation, more challenging competition, and great benefits.

Do you have any advice for girls who are looking to achieve a scholarship and compete in college?

Alex advises that the best way to achieve something of this caliber is to buckle down, start early, but in the time and effort, do not cheat yourself or others because it will come back to bite. This does not happen over night, so do not be afraid. Go after what you want.

Ashley encourages selfishness when it comes to this particular part in life. If you are not selfish about what you want, you won’t get it. This is the time to go after what you want, and if it is meant to be, it will all fall into place.

What goals do you plan to achieve in college?

Alex hopes to break some records, set some personal bests, come out of college as a successful young adult, and be proud of her last four years of swimming.

Ashley aspires to be happy with what she has done at the end of the day, study hard, work hard, be proud of what she accomplished and how she accomplished it.

We wish the best of luck to these bright girls in their future endeavors. Go Eagles! Go Knights!