At the age of eight, sophomore Facundo Monteiro dreamed of coming to the United States and swimming competitively. A couple of phone calls and 1,000 e-mails later, Monteiro is living his dream.
While Monteiro had to fight to get to N.C. State, he said that he needed to learn about much more than swimming to compete on the team.
“I didn’t speak much English at the time of coming to the United States,” Monteiro said. “But when Christopher “Woody” Woodard, the associate men’s head coach and women’s assistant coach, told me about the program, I was like yes, I want to go there.”
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monteiro joined the team for the 2009-2010 season. He chose N.C. State over Texas Christian University, University of New Orleans, and Brigham Young University. Monteiro is currently majoring in Marketing.
Head Coach Brooks Teal did some homework on Monteiro before adding him to the team. Teal said that when he was looking at tape of Monteiro, he seemed to be a missing piece that the Wolfpack needed.
“His time showed he could be competitive,” Teal said. “Backstroke was one of our needs at that point, so he was worth giving the opportunity.”
Before joining the Pack, Monteiro had some national and international experience. He was the National Champion in the 200-meter backstroke, as well as capturing a Buenos Aires title in the 100-meter backstroke. In 2008, Monteiro claimed swimmer of the year for Club Atletico Independiente, a popular sports club based in Avellaneda, Argentina.
The first thing Monteiro noticed was different in the United States was the amount of work put into the sport. Monteiro says that the focus he puts into swimming now is much different from when he was in Argentina.
“Here, I am living for swimming,” Monteiro said. “I feel almost like a professional swimmer.”
Even with these new challenges, he enjoys being part of the team. His teammates tried to speak conversational English to him in order for Monteiro to learn not only the language, but the language of the sport. After a year, he has come a long way from not only speaking the language but swimming as well.
Coach Teal hopes Monteiro stays at the University through his tenure. He is fulfilling his dream by being part of the Wolfpack swimming program. The sophomore hopes to start training for the Olympics 2012 this summer. He wants to represent his country in the backstroke.
Associate women’s head coach and assistant men’s coach Jacqui McLaughlin believes that Monteiro is a very coachable athlete as well as a good student. She says that Monteiro brings a lot of energy to the Pack.
“Facundo [Monteiro] is a great kid,” McLaughlin said. “He’s a really hard worker, very upbeat, and brings a lot of positive energy to the group and the team.”
The swimming and diving team has an additional five international students competing for the Pack. Jonathon Boffa is from Sliemma, Malta. Brandon Kingston and Jessica Ward are both from Ontario, Canada. Ivan Kopas comes from Kikinda, Serbia. And Melody Sun is originally from Dailan, Liaoning, China.
Typically, the swimmers contact N.C. State and coaches do a background check on the athlete, watch videos, and possibly a coach might visit them in person. Almost all swimming and diving teams in the ACC have at least one international student competing.
State fans can come out and support Monteiro and the rest of the team as they compete against UNC-Chapel Hill at the Willis R. Casey Aquatic Center on Thursday at 5 p.m.
