By Bret Lundgaard, Special to JTNews
Two out-of-state swimmers from the University of Washington swim team have their squad believing that this is the most talented group in quite some time, and that this year will be the year that this storied program is revived.
So where do these two competitors come from? California, Texas or Florida? Not even close.
The Wingate Boarding School in Israel is where these two swimming sensations, Yonatan Cohen and Erez Fern, met and were molded into the swimmers and friends they are today.
“Wingate is a boarding school for the national team athletes and is where I met Erez when we were 15,” said Cohen.
From that point on, the two have rarely left each other’s side.
Cohen and Fern both set Israeli records while training together before they began to be noticed by some of the top universities in the U.S.
“We knew that if we wanted to keep swimming and go to college, we would need to go to a school in America,” said Fern. “Israel doesn’t have the resources to create as many opportunities as the U.S.; most of the money goes to security.”
Jon Banker, a junior and one of three captains for the Huskies, said, “I remember our coaches talking about recruiting these two and now I see what the hype was all about.”
Despite the attention these superstars received, it wasn’t difficult for them to choose the University of Washington.
“We wanted the big-city feel, good academics and the general American experience,” said Fern. “So Seattle and the University of Washington seemed like a great place.”
Cohen, from the city of Neve Monoson, and Fern, from Herzliya, (a 15-minute drive from Cohen’s home), packed their bags and left what they had known and loved for all of their lives.
And they are definitely making the most of it.
Fern, a butterfly stroke specialist on the team, is majoring in Industrial Engineering. He was the Huskies’ top 200-yard butterflyer last year, missing the NCAA Championships by a mere second.
And Cohen, the top breast-stroker for the Dawgs, was only two-tenths of a second away from qualifying for the NCAA Championships in his inaugural season with the Huskies.
“They came so close to making NCAAs last year, I’ve got to believe that they will this year,” said Banker.
But it’s not just swimming keeping Cohen afloat. His impressive 3.98 GPA in physics and mathematics has him currently in limbo about his future plans.
“I’ve always pictured going back to Israel when I was done swimming and attending the Weizmann Institute and doing my researching there, but it would be hard to turn down a scholarship from an Ivy League school or MIT,” said Cohen.
Fern plans to see what opportunities come before him and to weigh them once the time comes.
The future for these two star athletes probably seems a little less intimidating compared to most other students, considering their current workload and the challenges they’ve already conquered.
“Our lives are swimming and school first, then errands, [then] trying to maintain a social life and keeping in touch with loved ones in Israel,” said Fern. “We are taking a full schedule at school (15-plus credits) and swimming, lifting weights and riding the stationary bikes, totaling over 20 hours a week.”
And that’s not always the toughest test for these two foreign athletes.
“It is hard to express yourself in a different language,” said Cohen. “You constantly have to think about each word you use and it’s hard to always be confident when speaking around those you don’t know well.”
Fern agrees and says there is some truth to the saying that your character changes with the different languages you speak because you pick up bits and pieces from other people, things you wouldn’t always necessarily say.
Despite any difficulties these two have faced in making such a dramatic lifestyle change, both emphatically agree that they feel they made the right choice in coming to the UW.
“Being a part of a competitive university and all that comes with it is an amazing thing,” said Fern.
In addition, the swimmers have found some support where they weren’t expecting it.
“We are amazed at how many people our age not only care deeply about what is going on in Israel, but have also visited Israel,” said Cohen.
There are plenty of people to celebrate all the holidays with. For example, the Hillel students’ organization offers many of the services the two student athletes would receive at home.
“We celebrated Yom Kippur at Hillel with about 500 other people,” said Cohen. “All of the outside support we’ve received has helped a lot.”
With the two swimmers feeling even more comfortable than last year, the Huskies should probably expect some great results very soon.
“We both want to score at the NCAA Championships this year, bottom line,” said Fern.
There should be no surprises if these two accomplish this goal since they have known only one word.
“Succeed,” said Fern, when he was asked what the goal of the two swimmers was when coming to America. So far, they are sticking to it.
riding the stationary bikes, totaling over 20 hours a week.”
And that’s not always the toughest test for these two foreign athletes.
“It is hard to express yourself in a different language,” said Cohen. “You constantly have to think about each word you use and it’s hard to always be confident when speaking around those you don’t know well.”
Fern agrees and says there is some truth to the saying that your character changes with the different languages you speak because you pick up bits and pieces from other people, things you wouldn’t always necessarily say.
Despite any difficulties these two have faced in making such a dramatic lifestyle change, both emphatically agree that they feel they made the right choice in coming to the UW.
“Being a part of a competitive university and all that comes with it is an amazing thing,” said Fern.
In addition, the swimmers have found some support where they weren’t expecting it.
“We are amazed at how many people our age not only care deeply about what is going on in Israel, but have also visited Israel,” said Cohen.
There are plenty of people to celebrate all the holidays with. For example, the Hillel students’ organization offers many of the services the two student athletes would receive at home.
“We celebrated Yom Kippur at Hillel with about 500 other people,” said Cohen. “All of the outside support we’ve received has helped a lot.”
With the two swimmers feeling even more comfortable than last year, the Huskies should probably expect some great results very soon.
“We both want to score at the NCAA Championships this year, bottom line,” said Fern.
There should be no surprises if these two accomplish this goal since they have known only one word.
“Succeed,” said Fern, when he was asked what the goal of the two swimmers was when coming to America. So far, they are sticking to it.
Bret Lundgaard is a student in the University of Washington’s Department of Communications News Laboratory.