Freshman swimmer Dan Forsythe is already proving his potential for the men’s swimming and diving team early this season. In the team’s most recent outing, a 165-133 loss to Clemson, Forsythe posted a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke and a second-place finish in the 100-yard breaststroke.

These finishes reflect a string of victories he has posted in recent meets.

“I am impressed the most by Dan’s fearlessness when it comes to races,” assistant coach Chris Woodard said. “He’s aware of and respects his competition, but he’s not afraid. He swims like a seasoned veteran instead of a freshman.”

Forsythe, an engineering major, has also shown just how much he can do in the classroom by being named a USA Swimming Academic All-American in high school.

“One of the reasons we recruited him was because of his GPA,” Woodard said. “He was recruited by Princeton as well. His academic record is very strong. He responds well to any challenge.”

Forsythe said he likes overcoming obstacles and taking on new opponents.

“I like putting in hard work,” Forsythe said. “After I’m done, it feels good because it feels like I’ve accomplished something, both with school and swimming.”

Forsythe said he chose N.C State not only because of his desire to compete in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, but also because of the reputation of State’s engineering program.

“The engineering program here is really good,” Forsythe said. “There are so many different engineering paths to choose from. I like math and science, so I figured that would be something I would be interested in.”

On the athletic side, the freshman swimmer has several goals outlined for this year.

“I want to contribute to the team and make it better,” Forsythe said. “Individually, I want to qualify for the NCAAs and finish in the top three in the ACC. However, I definitely need to improve certain areas with my stroke.”

When he was younger, Forsythe had what he described as a bizarre swimming accident.

“When I was 12 or 13, I dove into an outdoor swimming pool and broke my nose and chipped my teeth,” Forsythe said. “It was deep. I just happened to hit the bottom.”

Looking back, he views the incident as a comical one.

“I guess it was just bad luck,” he said. “My teammates just laugh when I tell them about it. It is pretty ridiculous.”

Even with all this, Forsythe looks forward to his future at State.

“I love the team chemistry and how the coaches help me out so much,” Forsythe said.