Scott Piper: A Proud Spartan

Various personal bests and an Olympic Trial cut later, four years for Michigan State senior Scott Piper has flown past in the blink of an eye.

In the shorts months he has left on Michigan State's campus, reflections on his decision to become a Spartan flood back.

"When I was looking at different schools, I was looking at the whole experience and Michigan State could offer really good academics, but also really good athletics as well as ways to get involved outside of that," said Piper. "I'm really happy with my decision because I've been able to get involved in so many different things, study abroad, have internships and do research. It's really a school where I could get the complete package and the coaches were really supportive of realizing you're a person outside of the pool."

With all the amazing experiences he has been a part of, including trips to Atlanta, numerous Big Ten road trips and swimming in state-of-the-art pools, one of Piper's fondest memories is the annual training trip to Delray Beach, Florida over winter break.

"We just got back from our training trip a little while ago that's in Delray Beach, Florida and that's always really fun," said Piper. "We get to travel with the whole team and we practice in the mornings, spend the afternoon on the beach and then go back and practice at night. It's tough and it's a lot of work but it's really fun spending time with the team just messing around."

As many do, Piper too has his pre-meet superstitions including a well-balanced meet day snack, but on top of that, for him it is about getting in the right mindset more than anything.

"I always have to eat trail mix right before big meets. I don't know why, but if there's a big meet I eat trail mix at the beginning of the day and my mom always makes me some so that's nice. That and then I also try and smile a little bit before every race just to get in the right head space and just be happy that I'm competing," said Piper.

There are so many opportunities to be thankful for in his four years and a great deal of gratitude to his coaches and teammates for making his collegiate experience one to remember.

As he prepares to take those final steps, Piper leaves a piece of advice to future swimmers and Spartans.

"It's incredible, but it goes by really, really fast so don't take any of it for granted and take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way," said Piper. "It's just great to be a part of such an amazing community with other Michigan State athletes in the athletic department and everyone that's involved. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to have been a Spartan."

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Scott Piper

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