LSU junior swimmer Damen Pheiffer recalls seeing senior swimmer Taryn MacKenzie, a stranger at the time, in South Africa wearing a hoodie with the logo of a school he’d never heard of before — LSU.
Although they didn’t know each other at the time, Pheiffer and MacKenzie had something in common — a dream of coming to the United States to swim at the collegiate level.
Now, MacKenzie and Pheiffer are living their dream together more than 8,000 miles from home but haven’t
forgotten their roots.
In fact, they recently celebrated the heritage day of their home country, South Africa.
“It was our heritage day on [Sept. 24], so we had a get-together that Saturday,” MacKenzie said. “We invited both of our roommates and we all just hung out, I actually felt like I was at home.”
MacKenzie said she realized her dream when she was 6-years-old, the same age she started swimming. She watched people she swam with leave for the U.S. and succeed, and she wanted the same thing.
“I had watched people in my club before me go to the [United] States and succeed and look like they were having a lot of fun and excelling in their sport,” MacKenzie said. “That’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to get to the best level I could, and I had it in my mind that the only way I could do that was by coming to the
[United] States.”
As MacKenzie progressed, the dream started to become a reality. At 16 years old, she competed in the Junior Olympics and was crowned the 2010 South African National Champion.
When it came time to pick a college, MacKenzie said LSU was at the top of her list because the importance of culture in
Louisiana made her feel at home.
“I’d heard great things about LSU. I heard Louisiana was most similar to South Africa,” MacKenzie said. “I’d heard great things about the culture here, I’d seen great things about the team, I’d had great Skype sessions with the coaches and everything just looked so welcoming. South Africa is a place where we’re all about culture and all about welcoming other people, and that’s exactly the vibe I got from LSU.”
When fellow South African Pheiffer transferred to LSU from the University of Tampa after his freshman year, Baton Rouge felt even more like home.
Pheiffer adopted his American dream at 13 years old, when his dad planted the seed in his head. Coming to America was a goal swimming-wise and training-wise for him to work toward.
“It was an opportunity that if I could get it, it shouldn’t be missed,” Pheiffer said. “It was an opportunity to get out of the country, to get what we deem a superior education compared to the system I’d get at home.
“At home, there’s a lot of politics involved with all things. Education is one of the major things it’s involved in, and they don’t have a competitive university swimming program in South
Africa.”
Pheiffer originally chose Tampa because of his love for saltwater fishing, something he could practice often in Florida. But he quickly realized he didn’t fit in, and it was time for a change.
Pheiffer credits the organization and professionalism of swimming coach Dave Geyer and the rest of the coaching staff as the reason for transferring to LSU.
“Dave brought me out here and I was completely blown away with what I saw,” Pheiffer said. “The facility, the professionalism of the coaching staff, the school in general and everything about it just blew me away.”
Having someone else on the team from South Africa made LSU the perfect fit for Pheiffer, who said having MacKenzie on the team means having someone he can make jokes with about their country that only South African natives would understand.
As for his passion of saltwater fishing, he’s adapted to having access to mostly fresh water.
“I’ve never really been into freshwater fishing, but it’s all I can get here really that’s feasible,” Pheiffer said. “My teammate, who’s also my roommate, him and I will go fishing together. Every time I go home, if we can, we’ll sneak away to the coast for a few days and go fishing for a bit. That’s still an absolute passion for me.”