Dec. 2, 2004
by Brendan Payne
WEST POINT, N.Y. - "Do you want to know what I told their parents," said Army head swimming and diving coach John O'Neill when asked to describe what freshmen Chelsey and Cora Freeman mean to 2004-05 team. "I told them `I only wish they were triplets.'"
For now, O'Neill will have to settle for the talents of just Chelsey and Cora, and as the twins have shown so far this season, those talents are vast.
The duo has provided an instant scoring punch to an already talent-laden Army swimming and diving team during their rookie campaign. The pair has already combined for 11 first-place finishes in only five meets so far this season.
Chelsey and Cora, who hail from the Puyallup, Wash., got their collegiate careers off to a bang in their first race for the Black Knights as they were both part of the team that set the plebe record in the 400 medley relay during Army's 145-95 season-opening win over Stony Brook on Oct. 19 at Crandall Pool.
"That was a surprise," said Chelsey. "We just went out there and swam and when we got done everyone told us we set the plebe record. It was a nice surprise to go out there and do something like that your first swim."
Cora, a freestyle and backstroke specialist, holds Army's top times this season in the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard butterfly, while Chelsey, a butterfly and backstroke expert, has the Black Knights fastest finish in the 100-yard butterfly.
"During the summer, I didn't get a chance to do a lot of swimming because of basic training," commented Cora, the elder sister by 10 minutes. "I came into the season and told myself `I'm going to do the best that I can and see how well I can do in the beginning of the season. Hopefully, I'll be ready for the Patriot League Championships and the Navy meet.'
"I was excited to start competing, and I guess that extra motivation helped in the first couple of meets."
Chelsey and Cora have been swimming competitively together for more than a decade since their mother, Debbie, first signed them up for the local swim team in Puyallup when they were eight years old.
"We were doing swimming lessons earlier than that, but our mom decided to sign us up for the local competitive swim team when we were in the second grade," said Chelsey. "We stuck with it ever since and it is something I have enjoyed a lot."
What started as a fun after-school activity turned into a passion by the time the twins reached high school. While competing for Gov. John Rogers High School, Chelsey and Cora led the Rams to back-to-back Washington 4A state championships in 2003 and 2004. The Freemans swam on two state record-breaking relay teams while at Rogers, and Cora garnered High School All-America honors in 2002 and 2003.
During their junior year, Chelsey and Cora began their arduous college search, both focusing primarily on East Coast universities.
"Most of the schools I had been looking at were on the East Coast," explained Cora. "We have family in the East. I pretty much planned all along to go somewhere away from the West Coast."
While the duo applied to many of the same schools they never imagined they would end up at the same place, let alone the United States Military Academy.
"We actually never really discussed colleges together," mentioned Chelsey. "We applied and looked in the same places. We always knew it was a possibility. It just worked out this way.
"I had been looking at the Academy for the past couple of years. I didn't really know if I wanted to pursue it, but after I came here on our official visit, I knew that I really wanted to come here. I didn't have a second thought about it. I just knew this is where I wanted to go."
Recruiting and coaching twins is nothing new for O'Neill. He has mentored twins on his teams at the collegiate and club levels.
"In the recruitment process we never tried to recruit them as twins," said O'Neill. "We tried to talk to Cora as Cora and Chelsey as Chelsey. Clearly they visited together, and obviously, if you have a sibling here it's a plus. It's always great to be able to turn around and talk to a family member. We like to think that our team fills the void of family for a lot of our athletes, but it is a neat situation for them."
The Army swimming and diving team has always enjoyed a rich history of family bonds at West Point. No less than 20 members of the 2004-05 swimming and diving team have current or past family connections to the Academy.
"We had a pretty good sense early on that what attracted one to this place attracted the other," continued O'Neill. "It was our hope that they would both come here."
Being so far away from home, the sisters truly appreciate having each other close at hand.
"It makes it a lot easier," explained Cora. "I think her being here has helped me a lot. I know that if I ever have any problems I can go to and talk to her."
Chelsey and Cora have made the difficult adjustment from civilian to military life without letting it affect their swimming.
"Getting adjusted to life here takes a while for everyone but they're doing a great job for us," states O'Neill. "They are very talented young women."
In fact, there are some aspects of military life they prefer over the civilian counterpart.
"One of my favorite things is the uniform," said Chelsey. "It's nice waking up every morning and not having to worry about what you're going to wear."
Chelsey and Cora list more serious reasons like the opportunity to serve the country, the great learning environment and a chance to swim at the Division I level as the basis for their decision to come to West Point.
Even though they are only five meets into their first season at the Academy, the Freemans understand the significance of competing for Army. That significance will be personified on Thursday, Dec. 2, as Chelsey and Cora embark on the biggest meet of their young collegiate careers when Army hosts arch-rival Navy in the annual "Star" match.
"The Army tries to incorporate the concepts of teamwork, team unity and cohesion," Cora said. "The Army swim team takes those ideals to another level."