Emma Goral '17 is one of the greatest swimmers in the history of Ripon's women's swim team, and arguably the single greatest since the turn of the century. In just three short years, Goral won six individual Midwest Conference championships, while setting nine school records (four individual and five relay) and two conference records. As a sophomore in 2016, Goral qualified for the NCAA 'B' Cut in both the 100 and 200 butterfly, narrowly missing the NCAA Championships.
"Emma was a freshman during my first year as a coach," Ripon Head Swim Coach
Ryan Goggans recalled. "As a young coach, I really appreciated having Emma as part of the team. She was not only an incredibly talented swimmer, but she's also very mature and she helped me guide our team in my first year with the program. I really believe that Emma helped inspire and lead us to all of the records and success that our team experienced during her three years with the team."
Goral wasted no time putting the MWC on notice, winning the conference championship as a freshman in the 100 butterfly (56.88) and 200 butterfly (2:06.86), which broke a 13-year-old conference record. She would successfully defend both of her titles the following season, breaking the MWC record in each event with times of 56.67 and 2:06.25, respectively. She capped off her Red Hawks career in style the following season, winning her third consecutive conference championship in each event.
"I will be forever grateful to Ripon College because I was able to continue participating in a sport that I love, while also pursuing my passion for studying Psychology, Philosophy, and English," Goral said. "Combining academics and swimming were ideal for me because the exercise and routine of swim practice helped me succeed in academics, and my teammates will remain life-long friends."
A Psychology major from Oconomowoc, Wis., Goral earned Academic All-Conference honors during all three of her years. She was twice named to the Scholar All-American team as an individual, and was part of a squad that earned National Scholar All-American Team honors during all six of her semesters at Ripon College.
"Emma is remembered for her incredible academic achievements just as much as her athletic accomplishments," Goggans said. "She was a tremendous psychology student who was a perfectionist with her work and finished with nearly a 4.0 grade point average."
Goral was just as happy to build something special in the program as Goggans was to have her as a member of his first teams as a Head Coach.
"Coach Goggans is exactly what I wanted in a coach," Goral said. "He's serious and focused on swimming fast, but also wanted us to bond as a team and have fun, which we did. "Coach Goggans arrived and began his coaching career the same year I first came to Ripon, and during those three years, he grew as a coach and we grew as a team."
In addition to the 100 and 200 butterfly, Goral holds school records in the 200 freestyle (1:56.21) and 1000 Freestyle (11:06.86). She also swam a leg on all five of Ripon's relay records, doing so in the 200 Medley, 400 Medley, 200 Freestyle, 400 Freestyle, and 800 Freestyle.
"What I really enjoy about Emma is how humble she is. She never got caught up in whether she was winning or losing a race, instead just focusing on swimming the best that she could," Goggans said. " We always talked about her race afterwards and she always wanted to know how she could improve, even when she would set a school or conference record. Emma never thought of herself as a champion or a record holder. Instead, she simply swam to the best to her ability in that moment."
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