Between the Lanes: Q&A with Peter Kropp

DURHAM, N.C. – The Duke swimming and diving teams opened dual meet competition last weekend at Pittsburgh, with the women claiming their first ACC victory of the season and the men falling to the Panthers. As the Blue Devils prepare to host UNC Wilmington and Virginia Tech next weekend in a pair of dual meets at Taishoff Aquatic Pavilion, GoDuke.com caught up with sophomore swimmer Peter Kropp, who recorded first-place finishes in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke and the 200 IM in the season opener.

GoDuke.com: Looking back at last year's ACC Championship, you and Hunter Knight both made the 'A' final in the 100 breaststroke. What did you learn from that experience and breaststroke swimmers like Hunter and Christine Wixted?
Peter Kropp: From Hunter and Christine I learned about trying to take over their leadership roles. Hunter showed me how to be consistent every day and how hard work really paid off at the end. Also his consistency at dual meets is something I've tried to model my season after.

GoDuke.com: You had some great performances this summer at Junior Nationals and at the Long Course National Championship. How did those swims set you up for this season?
PK: I had a great summer of training. Juniors was not my taper meet – Nationals was my taper meet – but I still ended up with a second-place finish at Juniors. And I hit all my goals this summer, which I'm pretty happy about. I think it set me up well for a good short course season at Duke.

GoDuke.com: Does anything feel different heading into this season with one year of collegiate swimming under your belt?
PK: One of the main things I've been focusing on is nutrition and getting sleep. I kind of realize now that it's the little things that add up. Hopefully that benefits me this season.

GoDuke.com: You put up a strong time in the 100 breaststroke at the Blue/White meet. What was your mindset going into that?
PK: I honestly just went for it. I went out pretty hard and somehow came back faster than I came back at ACCs. So I was just really happy with that time. The energy was great for Blue/White so it made it that much better.

GoDuke.com: How has the team's training been going so far with one dual meet in the books?
PK: We're definitely ahead of where we were last season at this point. The freshmen are great, they bring a lot of energy in the weight room and in the pool. They've been putting in great work so far.

GoDuke.com: What was it like to travel to Pitt for the first meet of the season last weekend?
PK: It was a lot of fun. Traveling took a long time but once we got there, we were warmed up. We definitely had a lot of energy. The meet went well too. We were happy with our times but we ended up falling a little short. There are definitely things to improve on but it was a good start.

GoDuke.com: Can you assess how the breaststroke group performed in that first meet?
PK: [Dylan Payne and I] were one-two in the 100 which was good and we definitely caught up some points there. That's something we need to do moving forward the next couple dual meets because we do have a strong breaststroke group.

GoDuke.com: What are some of your goals for the first half of the season?
PK: I want to qualify for NCAAs at Nike Cup, which is coming up here in a couple of weeks. I want to qualify individually and have our medley relays qualify.

GoDuke.com: Are you excited to have a couple of home meets at Taishoff next weekend?
PK: Swimming at home is awesome. Those meets will be during Parents' Weekend so we'll have a great crowd coming out. They should be close meets. Virginia Tech was the ACC champion last year so they'll be tough. It'll be great.

GoDuke.com: Being from California, what was it about the Duke swimming and diving program that attracted you to come all the way across the country?
PK: I think just the combination of academics and athletics, great coaches, great support staff with our athletic advisors. I've loved it so far.

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