It didn’t take Tessa Yohan long to make an impact at William Smith College.
The New Salem native took off running once she arrived on campus in Geneva, N.Y. last fall. She led the Herons’ swimming and diving team in points as a freshman, swimming the 200-yard individual medley, 200 butterfly, 100 IM and 400 butterfly.
With the amount of work she puts in, it shouldn’t be a surprise that Yohan had success right out of the gate.
“It was a very good freshman year,” she said. “I got everything I hoped would come out of the season. You can only hope for the best. I put my head down and got to work as soon as I got there.”
Yohan — who graduated from Stoneleigh-Burnham School in 2021 — said she finds ways to take the pressure off herself going into races, which can be difficult in an individual sport.
She likes to dance around and get her heartbeat up before getting into the pool. She said it helps her relax and puts her in a good mental position to succeed.
“When you’re not thinking about it too hard, it just comes naturally,” Yohan said. “The pressure is off if you don’t think about it. Before races I just try to block everything out and then I just go for it. I trust my training. You can’t be afraid to push yourself too hard. You have to trust that your coach has got you to the point where you can give everything.”
One of the biggest adjustments for Yohan at the collegiate level was not knowing the people she was competing against. She swam for the Amherst Tritons club team since she was 13, going all around New England for competitions, and by doing so ended up knowing the competitors she shared a pool with.
That wasn’t the case once she got to William Smith, as she was competing against a crop of new swimmers. As a result, she put it on herself to prove she belonged.
“It was a whole new game in college with not knowing anyone,” Yohan said. “I had to present myself on the deck as someone who is ready to compete and deserved to be there. It was a mental switch. I wasn’t used to having to prove myself because people knew me. It was a concept I hadn’t dealt with yet.”
The season turned for Yohan at the RIT Midseason Invitational. The meet featured some of the best teams on the William Smith schedule, but Yohan ended up scoring the most points of any individual there. Her confidence soared through the roof.
“Going in I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did,” Yohan said. “I showed everyone I was ready and that I was here to compete.”
Yohan had a strong close to the season, helping lead the Herons to a ninth place team finish at the 2022 Liberty League Championships. The freshman finished 12th in the 200 IM, 13th in the 200 fly and 200 butterfly, and 20th in the 100 butterfly.
Despite all the success, Yohan already had her eyes set on next season. She’s two seconds away from breaking the school record in the 200 butterfly — an event she just started competing in two years ago but has quickly turned into her favorite — and has her sight set on breaking that mark.
“The pressure is on for next season,” Yohan said. “Coming in I want to beat that school record. It’s very much in my hands and I’m hoping to get that. I love pressure. I work best under pressure and when my anxiety and heart rate are high. I’m really looking forward to next season.”
For many athletes, the transition to collegiate athletics can be a challenge from a time management perspective. That hasn’t been the case for Yohan.
During high school, she would wake up at 6 a.m., go to school, have swim practice after school, drive down to Amherst for a club swim practice, and then complete her school work when she got home.
By cutting out the time driving, she said she now feels she has more time, and has improved her sleep schedule in college.
“Coming to college was so much easier,” Yohan said. “Doing that routine the past three or four years, I just got used to being busy. I was so prepared for the time commitment once I got to college. I was swimming as much as I did, if not more, in college but didn’t have to stay up until 2 a.m. to get my school work done.”
That’s not to say the grind of a college athlete isn’t still challenging. During the season, Yohan and the William Smith team would hold team lifts every day and swim 16-18 hours a week. Two or three days a week they would have both morning and night swims.
Now in the offseason, Yohan is doing coach-assigned workouts in addition to captains’ practices. The team still gets together to lift, and she continues to swim for her club team when she’s home in Western Mass.
In a sport where milliseconds can be the difference between first place and fourth place, Yohan continues to put in the work. Not only does she have her eyes set on the school record in the 200 butterfly, but she’s hoping to qualify for the NCAA Championships next year, a goal that continues to push her.
“We swim in a very competitive league,” Yohan said. “There’s so many NCAA qualifiers. I’d love to get to that point in my career. I just have to keep training and keep working to get there.”