JACOB KONST/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman swimmer Lacey Nymeyer, who won first place in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle last weekend against No. 8 Stanford, does weight training prior to practice yesterday afternoon.

Freshman year in college is typically full of new things, new stresses and newfound responsibilities. As if it is not hard enough to be a freshman, try being a freshman athlete.

On top of going to classes, having a full schedule and attempting to maintain a good grade point average, there are the additional obligations of practice, meets and other team duties.

Freshman swimmer Lacey Nymeyer is experiencing the life of a freshman athlete and making her mark on the UA women's swim team along the way.

"I don't think she knows how much of an impact she has made and can make," said UA head coach Frank Busch.

This weekend against No. 8 Stanford, Nymeyer took home first place winning both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle. She also swam a leg of the 400y freestyle relay team, which also finished first.

Nymeyer, who graduated from Tucson's Mountain View High School, decided to stay near home and attend the UA, making Arizona coaches happy they got such a prized recruit.

"We were lucky to get her. Any time one of the best is local, it makes it even more special," Busch said. "We had to work hard to convince her to stay here."

Nymeyer said she decided to stay in her familiar surroundings because she liked the way the team was run and that both the men's and women's team trained together. She also praises the team for its atmosphere and the great competition.

"I wanted to come to a team where I would not be the best," Nymeyer said adding that swimming for a university is a lot different than high school competition because it's more team oriented.

Less than six months into her first college season, Nymeyer is already making huge contributions to the top-10 women's squad.

"I hope that I have made an impact," Nymeyer said. "I want to help the team out, so we can do well. I plan to keep trying hard and working hard to give the team as many points as I can."

Nymeyer said that balancing her time is one of the hardest things about being a student-athlete. Not only does she practice twice a day, she also has to go to class and keep her grades up.

"It's like having a full-time job, you give everything to the sport and the team. It's hard to keep it together without being stressed out," she said.

Nymeyer said she hopes all the hard work will pay off with a trip to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, but doesn't know how much she will swim after college, despite her love for the sport.

"Swimming has put me in a direction to succeed, a path that I will continue on even when I am done swimming," Nymeyer said.

"Lacey is doing well. She is definitely, as most other sports would say, an impact player," Busch said. "She's a great person who wants to be as successful as possible."