Women's Swimming and Diving

Student-Athlete Spotlight: Natalie Sims, UW-La Crosse

Each week during the 2019-20 academic year, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) will feature two student-athletes (one male and one female) from one of its eight institutions for a “Student-Athlete Spotlight” Q & A segment. The segments will be posted every Thursday and individuals are selected by the institution. The WIAC Student-Athlete Spotlights are presented by Culver's.


Name:  Natalie Sims
Institution:  UW-La Crosse
Hometown (High School):  Edina, Minn. (Edina High School)
Year in School:  Junior
Sport:  Women’s Swimming & Diving
Major:  Organizational and Professional Communication
Minor:  Leadership Development


Why did you choose UW-La Crosse?
I chose UW-La Crosse because it was not only close to home but what really drew me was the swim team. I enjoyed the team culture and how close everybody was. I also like the size of the campus and the beautiful bluffs of course!
 
What do you like most about competing in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and being a NCAA Division III student-athlete?
My favorite thing about being a collegiate student athlete is getting to train with my teammates. They are the best part of my day because we all support/encourage each other, we are all close hang and hang out with each other outside of practice.
 
What is your favorite…
Flavor of the Day from Culver’s?  Cookie Dough Craving
Menu item from Culver’s?  Cheese Curds
Spot on Campus?  Student Union
Movie?  Breakfast Club
TV Show?  The Office
Food?  Chicken Wings
Musical Group/Artist?  Billie Eilish
Professional Sports Athlete?  Simone Biles
Hobby?  Fishing
Phone App?  Snapchat
Vacation Spot?  Cancún, Mexico
Quote/motto? 
One of our teams’ mottos is “Honor your teammates with your attitude and effort.”
 
What is your greatest sports moment? 
Winning gold in the 100 freestyle at the Pan Am games in Peru this past summer.

What is your favorite thing to do off the court/field with your teammates?
Bluff hikes!

If you could change one rule about your sport, what would it be?
Use equipment during competition!
 
The best thing about your hometown is?
Hockey games!
 
What is your dream job? 
Radiologist.
 
Three things on your "bucket list"?
---Skydive.
---Go to the Colosseum in Rome.
---Bungee jumping.

Do you have any pre-game/pre-event rituals? If so, what are they?
One thing I like to do before a race is listen to music or meditation.

What is your biggest “pet-peeve”?
Loud chewing.

What is your greatest fear?
Heights.
 
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