Athlete of the Week: Andrew Eigner

“Swimmers... take your mark… Go!” Senior Andrew Eigner bounds off the wall, flying before splashing back down into the water. After he surfaces from the flawless start, Eigner finds his pace with ease as he gracefully passes the swimmers in the other lanes. When victory seems near, however, the swimmer in lane seven catches up to Eigner with a powerful flipturn. The two athletes are neck and neck during the final two laps, and as his devoted teammates cheer him on from the pool deck, Eigner returns to the lead just as he crosses the flags.  With two more powerful strokes, he dolphin-kicks and slams his hand into the wall, finishing with a best time, overcome by the congratulatory shouts of the spectators and friends there to see him perform.

Eigner, Big Red boys’ varsity swimming captain and two year member of the team, started swimming at age five. When he turned six, he began participating in local competitions. His father, uncle and other family members, all of whom were former swimmers, motivated him to start at such an early age.

Eigner eventually joined a club team and started to regularly attend year-round practices. He found motivation not only from his parents, but also from the older swimmers he trained with.

“When I was younger, I saw the older swimmers that I looked up to, and watching them succeed motivated me to try my best everyday,” Eigner said.

To Eigner, swimming became more of a lifestyle rather than just a sport. He kept pushing himself to get better, and his dedication to the sport reflected in his improving times.

“Andrew Eigner is a phenomenal athlete, an excellent scholar and an all-around great person.”

When Eigner was accepted into Exeter, he knew it would be a challenge to prove himself on the team as a new upper. However, with his hard work ethic and enthusiasm, he demonstrated his potential to the coaches.

Now as a captain of the team, Eigner utilizes his knowledge and skills he obtained from previous captains and teammates to help current teammates improve. Eigner particularly spoke of Joe Shepley ‘14, one of last year's captains.

“Joe Shepley has been a role model to me throughout my swimming career. Not only did I look up to him as a swimmer but as a person too,” he said.

Besides “following in his role models’ footsteps,” Eigner brings his own attitude and ideas to the team.

“I hope that by showing my work ethic at practice, everyone else tries a bit harder,” Eigner said. “Besides training, we are there to have fun and to not take things too seriously.”

At practice, Eigner creates a challenging but enjoyable environment. He facilitates team building exercises and always arrives with a positive attitude. Eigner and many other members have described each day at practice as “outrageous fun,” a funny saying that has helped them get through some of the more intense workouts.

Eigner added that he cherishes the many friendships that he has made swimming for Exeter.

“The team’s camaraderie is outstanding. We win and lose big meets together, we go through pain together and we also train for many hours each week together. I’m sure that I’ve made life-long friends on this team,” he said.

Eigner’s teammates commented on Eigner’s leadership on the team.

“I have only known him for two years, but he has really become a leader on this team... Just seeing him swim his best and put out amazing times, especially in the hundred backstroke, has helped us, as his teammates, do better,” upper Killian Dickson said.

Upper David Shepley said that he and his teammates also admire Eigner because he is “very approachable, which allows him to connect with everyone.”

Along with his approachability, many of Eigner’s traits help him to personally connect with his teammates.

“Andrew leads by example. But more than that, he lives the life of an athlete; he exudes this aura of athleticism. Some people might pass that off as the smell of chlorine, but it is much more than that,” senior and co-captain Brooks Saltonstall said.

Upper Graham Hazlett echoed Saltonstall’s sentiments. “He is very hard working in practice most definitely and because of this he keeps the team working hard. He is able to motivate his teammates before the game and also put out great swims.”

Through Eigner’s leadership, the team has been able to defeat various opponents, including Milton, Deerfield and Choate, some of the better teams in their conference. Eigner is still motivated to continue the winning streak by working hard during training and inspiring the members of his team to do the same.

“Over the last few weeks, we’ve put in the time and effort to win these important meets, and we will continue pushing ourselves until championships,” Eigner said.

Saltonstall said that, as Eigner hopes, the team will be able to progress and win because of Eigner’s dedication to the sport and the team.

“Andrew Eigner is a phenomenal athlete, an excellent scholar and an all-around great person. Andrew is the best co-captain I could have wanted. We complete each other. He brings the talent while I try to bring the motivation,” Saltonstall said.

“Andrew does not care about what other people think about his swimming. He only cares about getting in the pool and going fast. It does not matter what event you put him in, he is going to get in there and do his best until he is in first place.”