Ally Loper was experiencing a problem that a considerable number of college students go through. The university that she was attending turned out to be not at all what she initially thought it would be.
But it wasn’t because of an inconsiderate roommate, failing grades or disgusting dining hall food that she was “miserable every day,” as UCLA senior swimmer Monica Dornick put it. The philosophy of the swim program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, inflexible in its ways regarding the individual physical and emotional makeup of its various swimmers, was vastly at odds with Loper’s personality. It was clear that she needed something more, and in her third year she transferred to UCLA, immediately taking to the team’s culture and workout regimen.
The UCLA swim team initially had its reservations about having a transfer student who swam in a different program for so long join the mix, but soon learned that its fears were unfounded.
“We were all kind of skeptical, but she fit right in,” Dornick said.
At Loper’s previous school, everyone on the swim team was expected to do the same sets and the same amount of weights without exception – a style that Loper felt didn’t match with her own training ideals.
“For swimming purposes, UCLA was a better program, and the coaching philosophy here is a lot more relaxed and less regimented, which I feel fits my personality better,” Loper said.
Coach Cyndi Gallagher emphasizes the differences among swimmers, recognizing that every athlete has a different body type that will respond in unique ways to various types of training. This means that one swimmer’s training might not necessarily be what her teammate is doing, Loper said.
Socially, Loper was a natural addition to the team.
“She had a role at the very beginning – she was kind of the mother hen of everyone,” Dornick said.
This need to look after her new team soon translated into her aspiration to become captain.
“I knew I really wanted to help the girls out and give them a different perspective from another collegiate swim team, and I thought that I could bring in a little insight,” Loper said.
Gallagher said that she saw the potential for leadership in Loper from the beginning of her time on the UCLA team. Loper was initially put in the freshman workout group, as she was a newcomer to the team. As she instructed them about the do’s and don’ts of being on a collegiate swim team, she soon became someone whom the younger students could rely on.
“I think (putting her in the freshman group) was probably the best thing for her because immediately they all looked up to her because she had all the answers and they had no answers,” Gallagher said.
Loper continued to gain the respect of her peers, becoming captain this academic year, along with seniors Courtney Wilde and Noel Tarazona. Captains were decided by a survey taken by the entire team in which they filled out who the hardest working, most dedicated and most communicative, among other criteria, swimmers were.
Despite how seamlessly she fit in with the UCLA team, Loper was shaped in a crucial and positive way by her time at UW. Loper always reminds her teammates how lucky they are to be swimming for their school and to have as much fun as they do.
“Those two years (at UW) made her who she is. It made her tougher and it made her stronger and it made her more resilient,” Gallagher said. “So I think that’s what she shows here: ‘You know what? This is a great place.’ And I think that’s what some people forget until you go someplace else.”
Loper brings to the UCLA swim team a mindset that could not have been cultivated without her experiences prior to her transfer. It’s reflected in the hashtag that she and her fellow captains invented this year: #daretobebruin.