For some collegiate athletes, it takes an entire career to win one singular event. For first-year swimmer at the University of Rhode Island, Julianna Tyler, it took one day.
Tyler, the newcomer from Cheshire, Connecticut, won her first solo event back on Oct. 10 when she won the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08:23. She squeaked past the second place finisher, first-year Hope Ivanovich of Siena, by a total of .39 seconds.
“I couldn’t really tell [I won] because when you are swimming you’re just in your own head, so it’s hard to tell who is with you even if they’re in the lane next to you. You really can’t tell,” Tyler said. “I was just happy with how I swam and I guess that was just a bonus.”
The win came in Tyler’s first collegiate swim meet, where she also placed second in the 200-yard individual medley and was a part of the team that placed third in the 400-yard medley relay. Tyler’s efforts helped Rhode Island to a 167.5-132.5 win against Sienna in their first meet of the season.
Now, two months into her first year in college, Tyler is gaining a better understanding of what student-athlete life is like. Tyler described that her 10 years with the Cheshire Y Sea Dogs club team in Connecticut is much different than her time with the Rams.
“So far [being a collegiate athlete] has been pretty crazy,” Tyler said. “It’s a lot more intense than my club team was obviously, but we knew that coming into it.”
However, despite the busy schedule, Tyler has enjoyed her time so far in Rhode Island.
“It’s just been pretty awesome meeting the team and just seeing how everything works,” Tyler said. “So far it has been pretty great.”
Tyler’s decision to attend URI was complicated. She was also considering the University of Maine. However, Tyler’s visit to Kingston served as the difference maker in her choice between the two schools.
“When I came on my visit, the team just seemed so inclusive and everyone seemed so happy here,” Tyler said. “[The program] also just got relatively new coaching and everyone seems to really love it here. I thought that this was the place I fit in the best.”
The new coach in question is URI Head Coach Lilli Falconer Deering, who took the reins in March of 2022 after being with the program since 2015, when she was a volunteer assistant.
Deering also commented on Tyler’s fit in Kingston, and the path to get her in the Ocean State.
“[Julianna] came on an official visit as well, and just throughout the whole process she was easy to talk to, very open, [had a] good line of communication,” Deering said. “[Julianna] seemed like a good hard worker who understood kind of what it means to be a Division I athlete, [and] the sacrifices that have to be made to be good at this level.”
Deering has expectations for all of her student athletes, but considering Tyler’s success early in her career, she is intrigued in what goals Tyler has for herself.
“I obviously have expectations of all of my athletes and goals for them, but I think she has goals for herself,” Deering said. “It will be interesting to hear based off [of] her first official meet and our blue-and-white meet, what her goals are for this season and moving forward.”
Deering also has high aspirations for Tyler’s career down the road. With three years of eligibility after this season concludes, Tyler has plenty of time to progress as an athlete moving forward.
“I think she will continue to make a great impact on the program and definitely will continue to help our program moving forward,” said Deering. “[I think she will] be more competitive during our regular season and then postseason [as well as] our championship meets.”
Tyler is not only pleased with her college experience so far, but expressed that working with Deering has been a great experience.
“[Coach Deering] is awesome, I love her as a coach, she’s amazing,” Tyler said. “She really makes you work hard, that’s for sure. She wants you to get better and she is always there to help you get better. She always knows how to help you improve on whatever it is that you are already doing.’’
In terms of her future this year, Tyler is solely focused on how the team does and is expressingly excited to see what the rest of the season holds.
“I’m excited just to see how everything pans out,” Tyler said. “The team works incredibly hard and everyone deserves to obviously succeed, so I’m looking forward to seeing how it all pans out.”
Tyler and the women’s swim and dive team are back in action when they host Springfield College and Coast Guard on Saturday at noon at the Tootell Aquatic Center.