Growing up, Audrey Cavaliere ‘25 participated in a variety of athletic activities, but during her freshman year, she chose to make swimming her main sport, falling in love with the community it created.

“You build a family with swim because it’s so grueling a lot of the time and so you connect with your teammates on a deeper level,” Cavaliere said.

After participating in a summer swim league at the Village Field Club, Cavaliere began swimming competitively at Bullets Academy Swim Club. She then swam on Lyons Aquatics before switching to Rise Aquatic Club at 16 years old. However, it was high school swim season that stole her heart.

“Club is a lot more individualized; you do everything alone and for yourself,” Cavaliere said. “In high school swimming, you do everything for the team, for something bigger than yourself, and I love that about high school.”

During her high school career, Cavaliere has gone to state every year. Last season, she won seventh in the 100-meter freestyle, as well as second place, and two fourth places in different relays.

“I rely on my team, and I want my team to rely on me, which is why I think that’s why I’m a relay-girl,” she said. “I like competing knowing that we’re in it together. We win or lose together.”

It is Cavaliere’s team player mentality that earned her the role of captain this year, head varsity swim coach Scott Walker said.

“Since her freshman year, she has always been like the mother hen of the entire team,” Walker said. “Her freshman year, after every practice, she used to grab everybody’s swim bags and carry them into the storage room for the girls. Nobody told her to do that, but after the first day she did it, she did it every day for the rest of the season.” 

After her initial hesitation to continue swimming in college, it was Cavaliere’s love for her team that played a huge role in her decision to commit to University of Illinois-Champaign for division-one swimming. 

“Illinois I’ve always loved,” Cavaliere said. “[One] of my best friends [and I have] always dreamed of going to Illinois together. After state last year, the head coach reached out to me, and I went for an official visit. I just fell in love with it. The coaches are just amazing and it reminds me so much of high school swim.”

Ultimately, the swim community that has fostered Cavaliere’s love for the sport is the thing that has helped her persevere through its brutal demands.

“Swimming is so grueling on your body,” she said. “It’s physically exhausting; there are days where you can’t walk up the stairs, it’s hard to sit down, your body goes through hell and back. So I think when you’re physically tired on top of having schoolwork and all of your other life problems, the biggest challenge is still trying to come together and use each other’s strength to keep going and fighting through that hard time.”

Above all, Cavaliere strives to support her teammates and strengthen the swim community she has grown to love.

“When I got voted captain, a lot of people said, ‘Audrey, it wasn’t just because you’re fast,’ that was a huge compliment,” Cavaliere said. “I care so much more about who I am as a person than my talents.”