Hometown: Arlington, VA

Discovering Davidson
Scott Frantz was looking for a small, D-I school, and felt at home as soon as he stepped onto the Davidson campus. As a varsity swimmer, he’s seen as much chlorinated water as grass or red brick sidewalks. He holds multiple Davidson and conference records—and hopes to set a few more before he graduates. “Swimming is a very demanding sport. We train and practice for hours a day— but the 6 a.m. practices at college feel like sleeping in after the 4 a.m. practices in high school.”

Beijing Dreams
“As a competitive swimmer, naturally I dreamed of a spot on the Olympic team. Although I fell short of that goal, just getting the chance to compete against Olympians like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte was an experience I won’t forget…. Collegiate swimmers will often take a year off to prepare for the trials, but I never considered that.” He‘s enjoying the games on TV along with everyone else, thrilled to see athletes he knows win some Beijing gold.

A Math Mind
Like all athletes at Davidson, Frantz is a student first and foremost—an economics major and a Chinese minor. “They both appeal to my ‘math mind,’ I guess.” Summer ’08 he interned with the Commissioner of Revenue in Arlington, Va., and wowed the staff by writing a computer program that made short work of a task that would have taken weeks if done manually.

The Team Works
He describes the swimming team as uncommonly close, because of both the Davidson environment and the coaches, whom he describes as “incredible.” Nor can he say enough about his team. “When I swam to qualify for Olympic Trials in Charlotte this summer, a few of my teammates—and even some of their parents—drove for hours to cheer us on.”

A Swimmer’s Parents
“It wouldn’t have been possible for me to swim competitively in high school without my parents getting up with me every morning. And at Davidson, at least one of them has come to every meet. Every single meet.”

Senior-Year Goals
“We want to win the CCSA [Costal Collegiate Swimming Association] championship,” he says, and there are some more school records to break—or re-break. “And graduate—of course!”