This fall, senior Allie Petersen will both deviate from and continue her family’s athletic traditions.

“Swimming is definitely a family affair for us,” Petersen said. Her mother swam during high school and her father swam for Northwestern in college, and her brother, Nick, is a swimmer at the same college. While she will continue the sport this fall, she’s chosen a different path: rather than attending Northwestern, a place she calls “a legacy” in her family, Petersen will swim for The University of Kentucky.

“I visited a lot of colleges and went on a lot of recruiting trips. The process is overwhelming at times and can be very confusing. In the end I was between Northwestern and Kentucky,” Petersen said of the process that led to her decision. “I chose Kentucky was because Northwestern is a big legacy in our family and I wanted to go out and do my own thing at a different school,” she said.

However, Petersen’s reasons for attending Kentucky runs much deeper than a desire to express her individuality or to be different from the rest of her family. “The swimming program is very strong and is in the most competitive conference (SEC). The coaching staff is very well known and I got along with the team right away. The school is really nice and they have a great program in what I’m going into, so it seemed like a perfect fit.”

For Petersen, this fall will mark not only her continuation of a family history of athletics: it’ll mark the beginning of an activity she’d dreamed about and worked for since her childhood. While she wasn’t always sure if the benefits to swimming in college outweighed the drawbacks, in the end she decided to continue her path and fulfill her childhood dream.

“Since I was 5, I always thought I would swim in college. Of course I had my doubts, and I definitely had to weigh the pros and cons. But I think there are many benefits of being a student athlete in college, and I want to take advantage of all of the opportunities,” Petersen said.

At Kentucky, Petersen says she will continue her main events (the 100 and 200 Breaststroke) and keep a training schedule much like the one she has now.

“I will swim for two hours every morning, two hours in the afternoon, and either lift weights or have dry land for an hour a day. Five hours of training is a lot to balance with schoolwork, but they have good advisors and tutors to make it easier,” she said.

Her family, she says, took her decision to deviate from their alma mater extremely well.

“They were surprisingly very happy with my decision,” Petersen said. “They were glad that I chose to go out and do my own thing and that I wanted to be independent. After I committed to swim there, they went down and saw the school and they loved it just as much as I did.”

Petersen also added that her brother’s influence helped her reach her childhood dream, even if she decided against attending the school where he attends.

“My brother and I both had aspirations of swimming in college since we were young so we’ve grown up with the same goal. It makes the journey a lot easier when you have someone going through the same challenges and someone there to support you,” she said.

Ms. Sarah Dunleavy, Petersen’s primary recruiter, is thrilled to welcome her to Kentucky.

“I know Allie will bring a great work ethic and attitude to Lexington next fall,” she said. “I think she will contribute with that initially, and turn into a key player as she develops. Allie is someone we think will have her best swimming ahead of her in college, and we are excited about her joining our team.”