Archive: Toledo Rocket Success Stories

By Skylar Cascadden, University of Toledo Student Intern
 
TOLEDO, Ohio - Hannah Beavers had to battle throughout her collegiate years just for the opportunity to do the one thing she loves best: swim.
 
Hannah, a senior on the University of Toledo women's swimming and diving team, has suffered from chronic back pain since her freshman season. She swam for three years for the Rockets before her back problems forced her to stop competitive swimming.
 
An eager swimming prospect out of Olentangy Liberty High School in Powell, Ohio, Hannah came to UT with high hopes. While she never rose to the level of an elite college swimmer, she is proud of the effort she made just to stay in the pool for as long as she did.
 
"My biggest accomplishment was being able to swim those three years and being able to compete at max level," said Beavers. "At times, I didn't know if I would be able to swim, just from the amount of pain I was in."
 

Hannah's best season came in her freshman year when competed in four events at the 2020 MAC Championships, setting a personal-best time of 28.28 in the 50 backstroke, and recording season-best times in the 100, 200 back, and 100 butterfly. But back pain limited her time in the pool the next two seasons. By her senior year Hannah could no longer swim competitively. She was left with a difficult decision: giving up the sport she loved.
 
Hannah met with Head Coach Brie Globig to tell her she was resigning from the team. Globig had other ideas.
 
 "I told Hannah that I would still love her to be on the team in some capacity, that there was an opportunity for her to be a student coach if she was interested," said Globig. "I wanted her to have an opportunity to still be with her teammates."
 
Suddenly, a new window of opportunity opened for Hannah. She fully embraced her new role as student coach.
 
"Getting the opportunity to coach at the collegiate level is amazing," said Hannah. "I absolutely loved being able to coach just because it a unique situation. I can't say a lot of people at 22 years old have coached at the collegiate level."
 
"I was glad to have Hannah continue to participate with the team this year as a student-coach," said Globig. "She made a positive impact each of her four seasons and it was rewarding to see her impact on the pool deck too. It is always bittersweet to say goodbye to your seniors, but I know Hannah will be successful in her next step in life. I was grateful for her time with the program."
 
Hannah is finishing her final semester as a UToledo student and will graduate this May.  An exercise science major with a minor in chemistry, she is hoping to attend graduate school next year. She is contemplating a career in exercise science but hasn't ruled out a future in coaching.
 
"I would love give back to other athletes because I feel like I have endured a lot as an injured athlete," said Hannah. "I want to be able to help athletes get back to what they're doing and let them succeed. I would love to maybe coach at the collegiate level or even at the high school level."
 
So while Hannah's college swimming career may not have lived up to dreams she had when she became a Rocket, she has no regrets about the path she choose.
 
"Swimming really shaped the type of person I am today," said Hannah. "It's given me the ability to push myself and a drive to succeed."