University of Tennessee Athletics
NCAA SWIMMER QUALIFIER PROFILE: OCTAVIO ALESI
March 07, 2007 | Men's Swimming & Diving
March 7, 2007
In preparation for the NCAA Swimming Championships, Utsports.com will publish several profiles to spotlight nine Tennessee swimmers who qualified for the 2007 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Each day a new release will focus on a new swimmer to honor his accomplishments, to peer into the personality of a UT swimmer and to learn about his preparatory thoughts on the championships that will be held March 15-17. The swimmers will be highlighted in the following order: Brad Boswell, Andrew Engle, Octavio Alesi, Jim Dabney, Nolan Morrell, Barry Murphy, Jeff Sudbury, Michael Wolfe and Andrew Thirlwell. Today's profile focuses on junior Octavio Alesi.
The Barinas, Venezuela, native finished off an impressive 2006-2007 campaign in Gainesville, Fla., against the now eighth-ranked Gators. Octavio Alesi completed the meet and the season without losing a single event over the course of regular season.
"I just took one event at a time," Alesi said. "I just kept concentrated every night. When Coach [Trembley] tells me what events I'm going to swim, I go to my room, focus and picture myself winning the night before a meet."
His strategies for success have had time for much refinement because Alesi started swimming at a very early age.
"I've been swimming since I was four-years-old," Alesi said. "I initially got into swimming because the doctors recommended to my dad that it would help with sinusitis, infections and asthma, although I don't have asthma. My brother and I started getting into swimming, and then I became really serious about swimming at age 10. I begin competing in Nationals and at age 13 I started representing the Venezuela National team. I didn't have a normal life and go out because I had swimming. My goal was always to come to the States and enroll in college."
Since joining college, Alesi has been pleased with the program.
"I think the program is awesome here at UT," Alesi said. "I wanted to pursue a career and I didn't want my swimming career to end. So both swimming and school are reinforcing me. The only option for me to keep swimming and go to school was to come to America."
These monumental aspirations, Alesi explained, did not come without its share of costs.
"There were a lot of sacrifices," Alesi said. "I remember my last year of high school, I couldn't even go to prom or go to graduation to get my diploma. I had to go to more championships in Spain to get to the University. It was a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to go to Spain. My dad and my family were very supportive and kept me energized."
His brother, a very influential person in Alesi's life, swam through college in Venezuela. His family offered encouragement, work and love to help Alesi's dreams come true.
"My brother and I are very close," Alesi said. "We would go out together and I call him all the time. We're very united. My dad would never miss a swim meet. He would go to practice 90 percent of the time and also made a lot of sacrifices in his job just to manage to be with my brother and me. My dad and the rest of my family have been great supporters in my life."
His dad plans to watch Alesi swim in Australia the week after the NCAA championships. This will be the first time Alesi can qualify for the Olympics. Without looking ahead to that opportunity, Alesi plans to stay focused for the sake of UT head coach John Trembley, the rest of the coaching staff and the University of Tennessee.
"I really want to focus on the NCAAs because I want to place in the top-eight," Alesi said. "I want to give this to JT (John Trembley) and the university. They have been giving so much to me and I want to pay them back. After that, I want to start preparing to qualify for the Olympics."
Alesi undoubtedly made his gratitude to the coaching staff and the team plainly known.
"Coach Trembley has been a significant part of my experience here. He's supportive and he gave me a chance to prove what I can be to this team. I'm glad to be here and be apart of this team. He's a great man and great coach. I hope I don't disappoint him at NCAAs as well as coach Joe Hendee. He's been more of a friend then a coach. I've been through a lot here but thanks to the coaching staff, they have made everything all right."
Swimming is not the all-embracive definition of Octavio Alesi. Despite some quirks, he is just a normal guy with likes and dislikes like any other person.
"I may be really bizarre in many ways," Alesi said. "But I'm a casual guy. I really like sports, especially soccer. I'm really passionate about it and watch it every weekend. I enjoy European soccer because my family is Italian. I also like traveling which is the nice thing about swimming. I get to travel everywhere."
Alesi now looks forward to traveling to Minneapolis for the NCAA Championships to further sharpen his already spectacular season. Alesi will face fierce competition in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay. The 6-time All-America junior -- boasting AA honors in the 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley his freshman year and in the 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay and 400 medley relay his sophomore season -- is not nervous about the NCAAs next week.
"I'm not real nervous," Alesi said. "I am very confident and excited. I know I've been training the hardest I ever have here. It's up for me to do what I've been training for. I've set my goals and accomplish them."
Alesi will swim seven events - the 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay, 400 medley, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly - in the championships next week.
The 2007 NCAA Championships, again, are held March 15-17 in Minneapolis, Minn. The next profile will feature sophomore Jim Dabney.
Players Mentioned
