Courtney Tseng wakes up at 4:30 in the morning to get to the Janet Evans Swim Complex by 5.
For 90 minutes she practices under the rising sun and watchful eye of her longtime Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team coach.
By 6:30 a.m., she’s out of the pool and off to Sunny Hills High, where afternoons brimming with Advanced Placement classes await.
The final school bell rings at 2:56 sharp, and it’s back to practice for three more hours of work.
“I really enjoy the sport,” Tseng said. “It’s something that helps me get through the day. I don’t think about anything else when I’m in the pool.”
Swimming varsity for three seasons now, Tseng doesn’t have much free time.
Nights at home consist of hours of homework and studying.
Half past 10 on most nights, it’s lights out.
Six hours later, Tseng’s at it again.
“It’s routine now,” she said of her daily schedule. “It’s my normal. You have to put dedication into this sport to be good at it. I love what I do. If you don’t love what you do, what’s the point?”
Optometrists, Tseng’s parents signed up their daughter for swim lessons as a toddler.
Later, an instructor saw how naturally she took to water, and suggested she be enrolled in advanced classes. At the time, Tseng also ran track.
But something about swimming lured her in permanently.
Tseng lost summers as a preteen learning basics – floating, kicking, breathing. She joined friends on one of FAST’s club teams.
She swam at meets in Canada, Texas, Northern California.
“You have your off days, your on days,” she said. “But it all comes down to the amount of effort you put into practice. Practices help physically and mentally. Physically, so you can keep going. Mentally, so you’re more prepared to swim in competition.”
In 2013, Tseng made varsity at Sunny Hills.
She found it delightful how close the team was, and eventually she thrived in Freeway League meets against letter winners at it for years.
Only a freshman, Tseng took first place in league in the 200-yard individual medley.
She placed second in the 500-yard freestyle.
At the 2014 CIF-SS Division 2 Finals, she finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in 18-swimmer fields.
“I’m not ashamed to say that her times are 100 percent all her own,” Sunny Hills swim coach Keith Nighswonger said. “She is a professional swimmer from the standpoint that she has a routine from the moment she walks onto the pool deck.
“Knowing Courtney, her routine probably starts when she wakes up in the morning.”
At last season’s Division 2 Finals, Tseng finished second in the 200 and fourth in the 500. She qualified for the CIF State Championships as a result.
One of 70-some-odd swimmers competing at the state’s premier event, she placed 13th in the former and 11th in the latter.
“I’d say I expected a lot out of myself,” she said of her early successes.
Tseng spends three-plus hours a day in the pool to shave milliseconds off her times.
As a freshman, she began practices with a bang, but petered out late. In the years since, she’s learned how to conserve energy, that way every distance, technical and breathing drill is completed with maximum effort. Her time management outside of the pool also has improved.
Tseng wants to swim collegiately. Ideally at Princeton.
“I want to adjust to college life as an athlete,” she said.
Last summer, Tseng, now a junior, filled out college questionnaires and sent emails to coaches. She recently began receiving responses.
To complement practices, Tseng watches YouTube videos of the country’s elite swimmers. She set two school records this spring, won more league championships and swam personal best playoff times.
“I try to execute my plan every time I’m swimming,” she said. “Be smart. Keep the tempo up. Keep up with the person next to you.”
Only 16, Tseng swam through an injured rotator cuff this season.
Because the 200 IM taxes a swimmer’s shoulders, she opted to swim the 200-yard freestyle through the playoffs.
At last weekend’s CIF State Meet, she placed second in the 500, her best finish yet.
Half past 4 Monday morning, Tseng woke up and got back to work.
“The thing about Courtney that shouldn’t be lost,” Nighswonger said, “besides the fact she’s a tremendous swimmer, is she’s an amazing person. I’m continuously amazed at what a leader she is, at the example she sets.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-7724 or bwhitehead@ocregister.com
