By: Mary Ann Mitchell, Associate Athletics Director for Communications


Across the country, senior student-athletes dealt with the disappointment of having their collegiate careers end in the eye of a pandemic, including that of UMSL men's swimmer Patryk Golinski.
 
The Warsaw, Poland native was at the NCAA DII Swimming & Diving Championships in Geneva, Ohio, where he thought he'd being finishing his collegiate career at the highest level. Instead, the meet wasn't even allowed to finish.
 
Golinski had qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second time in his career and the first since his sophomore season when he earned Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
 
Coming off a junior year in which he said was not his best, Golinski was ready to re-focus his mind and do what he could to finish his senior year strong. While one might think that meant extra time in the pool or the weight room, Golinski said his preparations were all mental.
 
"I had a very different mindset coming into my senior year than I did my junior year. This year I knew it was the last year I could do something special and that it was my last chance. So, I trusted in myself that I could do the work and focused on putting in hard work to be able to perform well at conference – the most important meet for the team."
 
His hard work and mental toughness paid off. At the GLVC Championships, Golinski broke three school records and recorded four NCAA DII B-cut times, which allowed him a spot back at the NCAA Championships.
 
"I was very happy with my results and times at conference. I was able to break some of my old school records and even took back some that had been broken by teammates. And it meant a lot to be able to qualify for the NCAAs again."
 
Golinski was able to swim in two of his four races at the NCAA Championships, including the 1,000-yard freestyle on day one and the 400-yard IM on day two.
 
It was that evening of second day on March 12 as swimmers were coming back to the pool for the night session that the NCAA announced the cancellation of all winter and spring championships effective immediately.
 
Golinski and his teammates had gone back to the hotel after the morning session, which saw him place 25^th in the 400 IM and the 200-yard freestyle relay qualify for that night's finals. Around 4 p.m. they left the hotel to return to the pool, but upon arrival, saw people leaving.
 
"We were confused at first, but then found out the NCAA had made their decision. That was heartbreaking. We worked so hard for something all year long and then had it had it taken away from us without any warning. I think what made it worse was that we were just at the pool that morning, putting in the work to make finals that night and the fact that it wouldn't be happening was just so sudden."
 
Golinski never got the chance to swim in the 500 or 1,650-yard freestyles one last time, but that won't leave his career at UMSL undefined. Golinski will graduate as the school record holder in four events and helped turn the program, which is just in its sixth year, into one that was consistently ranked in the Top 25 nationally this season.
 
"It has meant a lot to be able to experience and witness the growth of this program. Coming here my first year I didn't know what to expect. I had a different coach that first year before Tony Hernandez took over my sophomore year. And that's when the program started to bloom."
 
He said he'll miss the structure of being a college athlete the most.
 
"That structure gives you an idea of what each day is going to be like with practice, classes and even the meets. That and being able to do that with people you know and get along really well with."
 
Golinski will graduate in May with a degree in media studies and is interested in advertising. Given the current state of the world, he's not sure what his future holds, but would like to stay in the United States.