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He swims his way to titles, scholarship

A Freedom High swimmer pulls off a rare feat by taking state titles in two events three years straight.

By TERRY JONES
Published December 9, 2005

TAMPA PALMS - The past four weeks have been exceptionally eventful for Freedom High School senior Michael Silva.

In the third week of November, he won two individual state swimming championships, recording the fastest time of all Class 2A swimmers in Florida in both the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200 individual medley.

Shortly before the state meet, he signed a full scholarship with Auburn University in Alabama.

Last week he competed in the U.S. Open Swimming Competitions, placing eighth in the butterfly against some of the top college swimmers in the country.

His double gold medal performance at the state championships was a repeat of his performance in his sophomore and junior seasons.

"It has been a pretty busy time for me," Silva said. "A lot of very good things happened to me in the past few months ... I became only the eighth Florida swimmer to win two events three years in a row."

Silva swam the breaststroke in 56.2 seconds, his best time ever. He finished the 200 individual medley in one minute, 52.3 seconds; he actually swam that event faster as a junior.

The state tournament was exciting for him, but he says his swimming future at Auburn looks even more exciting.

Auburn University is one of the top college swimming programs in the country. The Tigers are the defending national champions and have won the NCAA national championship three of the past four seasons.

"I formed an instant bond with Auburn head coach Dave Marsh and the members of the Auburn team," Silva said. "They study, have meals, hang out together on weekends, practice and compete together. It is the family atmosphere for a team I wanted and they are winners."

Currently, the fastest breaststroke swimmer for the Tigers does the 100 in 54 seconds, but he's a senior and won't be there next season. Silva believes he'll move right into the university's travel team as a freshman.

Even with his success in the pool, he says he only trains once a day. In college he'll train longer sessions twice a day.

"Coach Marsh says real success is just knocking on the door for me," he said. "I have not opened it and haven't walked in, but it is knocking. I believe with the extra help and coaching, I can get below 53 seconds and maybe even win a national championship with the team and with my breaststroke."

Although he doesn't know what his GPA is currently, he expects to graduate with an unweighted average above 3.5.

He hopes to qualify for the Olympic trials and ultimately earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. That's a dream, but he feels he can make it happen with a lot of hard work.

If that happens, he'll be training full time for several years.

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 07:50:08]