Eastern Michigan Athletics
Senior Spotlight: Casey Gavigan, Swim & Dive
5/26/2020 2:00:00 PM | Swimming & Diving, General
EMU Athletics will recognize and share stories of the Class of 2020
Accumulating 38 wins over the course of her career, Gavigan notably won the 200 backstroke title at the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championships with a then-school record 1:55.93 performance, while also taking third in the 100 backstroke with a time of 54.17 to earn First Team All-MAC honors. Earning Second Team All-MAC accolades at the 2019 MAC Championships, she bested her own school record by .6 seconds to take second place in the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:55.33. Gavigan also finished runner-up in the 100 backstroke with a career-best time of 52.87, which ranks as second all-time in program history.
During her senior season, Gavigan qualified for the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials in the 100 backstroke with a 1:02.11 showing at the Denison Invitational Long Course time trials, Dec. 5, becoming the first Eagle to qualify for the Olympic trials since Alexis Mitcheltree in 2016.
Reflecting on her time at EMU, Gavigan began, "'It's one thing to have a dream and it's another to be in the dream world.' One of the most important lessons I've learned at Eastern Michigan is the meaning to this quote. It is so easy to make a goal but the process it takes to get there, the 'dream world,' is what makes the goal attainable. This process is one of the things that unites all athletes - the absolute grind we all go through to work towards our goals. Starting with Peter Linn and Tracy Martin to Derek Perkins and Maddie Tretter and all the coaches in between, this program has given me the opportunity to be a part of this dream world. Without my teammates (past & present, boys & girls) and the culture we created, I would not be the person or athlete I am today.
Everyone that knows me knows that I love to compete, but what made this experience so gratifying is the fact I got to represent something larger than myself- my team. The sad part about graduating is not that swimming is over, I can hop in the pool and swim tomorrow if I wanted to. The sad thing is I never get to experience this kind of team atmosphere again. The team that has made me who I am today and whose memories I will cherish forever. This team that has shown me the values of dedication, trust, and sacrifice to something bigger than myself.
I would like to thank my parents for always being 100% supportive in all of my dreams and helping me make them a reality. My siblings and cousins for inspiring me to join swimming in the first place and always being the support system I needed during my childhood. Thank you to Three Village Swim Club and all of my coaches and teammates there for introducing me to how rewarding this sport can be and creating the love for swimming I needed to get me where I am today. Swimming will be a part of me always and I am forever grateful for the lifelong lessons and relationships swimming brought me."
A three-time Academic All-MAC selection and 2019 College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar All-American, Gavigan will graduate with a degree in exercise science.
Players Mentioned
