George Washington University Athletics
Pursuit of Excellence
10/4/2018 10:30:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
GW Swimming & Diving's Emily Zhang pushes forward in senior season
By the time her right hand reached the wall, Emily Zhang had a feeling she'd put together a gold-medal swim.
The group of GW teammates quickly rushing to greet her in Lane 5 after the 200-yard freestyle at last year's Atlantic 10 Championships confirmed her suspicion.
"It was just a really beautiful moment," said Zhang, who finished in program-record time of 1:47.34. "It was very touching to see all my teammates behind me and getting to share that moment with them. It was really special."
Zhang is back after breaking through with the GW women's first individual gold since 2014, looking to build on a standout junior season.
The Maryland native won six total medals at the A-10 meet, including a pair of relay golds, to help the Colonials continue their climb in the conference standings before earning three more podium finishes at the season-ending CSCAA National Invitational Championship.
To head coach Brian Thomas, Zhang represents everything he wants the program to be about. Because of the senior's exacting standards in and out of the pool and ever-present smile, he feels fortunate to have her setting the example for the Colonials in his first season in charge.
"When your leadership is also your fastest swimmer and the best in terms of attitude, that's the total package," Thomas said. "That's when you know you're going to have some team success because everyone wants to follow that."
A decorated recruit out of the successful Rockville Montgomery Swim Club, Zhang opted to stick close to home at GW, not far from the National Mall where she spent many weekends at the Smithsonian museums growing up.
Zhang's continued rise mirrors the development of a program that has moved up in the A-10 standings each of the past three years from 11th in 2015 to third last season.
Yet Zhang walked away from each of her first two trips to the A-10 Championships feeling like she had more to give. She knew all the work she'd put in and was disappointed to fall short of the podium, despite making A finals in all of her individual events.
Those memories provided a major source of motivation throughout last season for Zhang, Abigail Fusco, Gemma Atherley and Jackie Torrez. Each of them had made A finals but never medaled.
That changed for all of them last February, highlighted by Zhang's 200 free gold, a sizzling swim in which she swam the second hundred faster than the first. That group also drove GW's unprecedented success in the relays with three medals and five program records.
"I think I bonded with the girls on a deeper level last year, and I think that really helped translate into practice, especially when we had really horrible and tough days," Zhang said. "I really believe that was a big piece of what got me there."
Zhang's breakout performance was no surprise to senior Lucy Castro, with whom she shares an apartment and a pet turtle named Bernie.
"Every waking minute she knows what she has to get done in order to succeed," Castro said. "Her grades reflect that, and it's the same thing in the pool. She knows exactly what she needs to do, and she's going to do it."
Zhang continues to push for excellence. Right now, she's completing an internship at the U.S. Green Building Council as she closes in on graduation with a double degree in Geography and International Affairs.
Of course, she's working as hard as ever in the pool, too.
Thomas has helped pinpoint some small technique tweaks that should help her shave valuable fractions of a second, including a bad habit of taking an extra breath on turns. True to reputation, she's excited to see where those adjustments can take her.
"It's funny because it's my last year and the technique should already be down, but I think that there's always room for improvement," Zhang said. "I think the little things are really what's going to help me."
Thomas hopes that attitude is contagious on the pool deck, especially for a talented crop of 19 newcomers in the program.
Zhang will do her part, showing up daily with positive energy prepared to get better. She's seen the benefits of her hard work show up in gold, and she's ready to push for more memorable moments like that.
"I think a lot of the first years can kind of see the excitement and they're really buying into that really early on," Zhang said. "When we had our first meeting, we set really ambitious goals. Yes, they're ambitious, but I think they're very attainable with the group of girls that we have."
WATCH THIS: Josh Monacelli, Jackie Torrez and Jake Ortiz preview the season.
The group of GW teammates quickly rushing to greet her in Lane 5 after the 200-yard freestyle at last year's Atlantic 10 Championships confirmed her suspicion.
"It was just a really beautiful moment," said Zhang, who finished in program-record time of 1:47.34. "It was very touching to see all my teammates behind me and getting to share that moment with them. It was really special."
Zhang is back after breaking through with the GW women's first individual gold since 2014, looking to build on a standout junior season.
The Maryland native won six total medals at the A-10 meet, including a pair of relay golds, to help the Colonials continue their climb in the conference standings before earning three more podium finishes at the season-ending CSCAA National Invitational Championship.
To head coach Brian Thomas, Zhang represents everything he wants the program to be about. Because of the senior's exacting standards in and out of the pool and ever-present smile, he feels fortunate to have her setting the example for the Colonials in his first season in charge.
"When your leadership is also your fastest swimmer and the best in terms of attitude, that's the total package," Thomas said. "That's when you know you're going to have some team success because everyone wants to follow that."
A decorated recruit out of the successful Rockville Montgomery Swim Club, Zhang opted to stick close to home at GW, not far from the National Mall where she spent many weekends at the Smithsonian museums growing up.
Zhang's continued rise mirrors the development of a program that has moved up in the A-10 standings each of the past three years from 11th in 2015 to third last season.
Yet Zhang walked away from each of her first two trips to the A-10 Championships feeling like she had more to give. She knew all the work she'd put in and was disappointed to fall short of the podium, despite making A finals in all of her individual events.
Those memories provided a major source of motivation throughout last season for Zhang, Abigail Fusco, Gemma Atherley and Jackie Torrez. Each of them had made A finals but never medaled.
That changed for all of them last February, highlighted by Zhang's 200 free gold, a sizzling swim in which she swam the second hundred faster than the first. That group also drove GW's unprecedented success in the relays with three medals and five program records.
"I think I bonded with the girls on a deeper level last year, and I think that really helped translate into practice, especially when we had really horrible and tough days," Zhang said. "I really believe that was a big piece of what got me there."
Zhang's breakout performance was no surprise to senior Lucy Castro, with whom she shares an apartment and a pet turtle named Bernie.
"Every waking minute she knows what she has to get done in order to succeed," Castro said. "Her grades reflect that, and it's the same thing in the pool. She knows exactly what she needs to do, and she's going to do it."
Zhang continues to push for excellence. Right now, she's completing an internship at the U.S. Green Building Council as she closes in on graduation with a double degree in Geography and International Affairs.
Of course, she's working as hard as ever in the pool, too.
Thomas has helped pinpoint some small technique tweaks that should help her shave valuable fractions of a second, including a bad habit of taking an extra breath on turns. True to reputation, she's excited to see where those adjustments can take her.
"It's funny because it's my last year and the technique should already be down, but I think that there's always room for improvement," Zhang said. "I think the little things are really what's going to help me."
Thomas hopes that attitude is contagious on the pool deck, especially for a talented crop of 19 newcomers in the program.
Zhang will do her part, showing up daily with positive energy prepared to get better. She's seen the benefits of her hard work show up in gold, and she's ready to push for more memorable moments like that.
"I think a lot of the first years can kind of see the excitement and they're really buying into that really early on," Zhang said. "When we had our first meeting, we set really ambitious goals. Yes, they're ambitious, but I think they're very attainable with the group of girls that we have."
WATCH THIS: Josh Monacelli, Jackie Torrez and Jake Ortiz preview the season.
Two days til FIU! Josh Monacelli, Jackie Torrez and Jake Ortiz preview the season here! #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/Mqvk65eyyW
— GW Swimming & Diving (@GWSwimDive) October 3, 2018
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
GW Women's Basketball vs. Loyola-Chicago (WNIT Super 16 Post-Game Press Conference)
Saturday, March 28
2025-26 GW Athletics Jersey Recognitions
Monday, March 23
GW Women's Basketball vs. Bradley (WNIT Post-Game Press Conference)
Friday, March 20
GW Men's Basketball vs. St. Bonaventure (Post-Game Press Conference)
Thursday, March 05