Over the coming weeks, we will catch up with and spend five minutes with a number of Cougar student-athletes. Next up is Washington State freshman Sierra Ortiz.

 
What have you been up to? What's a Day in the Life look like now? Are you able to do pool workouts anywhere? 
Once the spring semester finished, a typical day now consists of waking up, getting a workout in, and working on my online summer classes. Other than that, I've been able to paint and play my ukulele a little while giving my dog lots of attention and taking her on walks. Unfortunately, there is no pool open anywhere so I haven't swam in a while.
 
What were a couple highlights from this past season? 
I think the biggest highlight of my season was the Phil Hansel Invitational meet in Houston. I dropped time in all four of the events I swam, made finals in three out of four of them and as a team we finished third against some good teams. It was also super exciting to be able to swim in my first Pac-12 Conference Championships because the energy there was unmatched to any meet I've ever swam in.
 
You were selected as the team's most improved swimmer, what does that mean to you that your hard work was recognized? What do you need to continue to focus on? 
It means so much to me to see all of my hard work getting recognized. It's crazy to see how much I improved in just one season compared to where I was in high school. I'm going to continue to focus on gaining strength in the weight room and working hard in the pool in order to improve even more next season.
 
You completed for you High School Swim Team as an eighth grader, what was that like competing for the varsity team at such a young age? Intimidated at all? How'd you swim that year? 
The swimming community in Las Cruces, New Mexico is extremely small and I had older teammates from my club team do the same, so I wasn't really intimidated. I think the most difficult part was getting used to 5:30 a.m. practices, which is the norm now. That year I made state in the 500 freestyle and swam fast enough to final, which was a huge accomplishment for me.
 
What are a couple of your favorite things about Pullman? Favorite restaurants, hiking spots, hang out spots? 
One of my favorite things about Pullman are the people and how close knit the community is. I love going to Roost and Zoe's for coffee and food along with watching the sunsets while eating dinner at the Grey W with my team after a hard practice. Pullman really just feels like home to me.
 
Other than WSU Swim Meets, what is your Cougar sporting event to attend and why? 
Even though I wasn't able to attend many, I really enjoyed going to baseball games. I grew up going to my brother's baseball games, so I was super excited to watch it again. The weather during baseball season is usually super nice and The Chairleaders (thank you ZZUCRU) always made them fun.
 
Compare the atmosphere at Gibb Pool on Meet Day against other Pac-12 pools? (Drumline, fans, music)? 
There was for sure a huge difference between Gibb pool and the other Pac-12 pools. The stands were always full, I always loved the energy the drumline brought, and it was super fun having Butch around for a few meets. Other Pac-12 schools didn't have a drumline or near the number of fans we had.
 
You are an animal science major, why did you select that as a major and what are the classes like? 
I chose animal science because I hope to go to vet school after undergrad. CAHNRS (College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences) has a great program that aids in completing all of the pre-requisites and will help prepare me for vet school. Classes are really fun and interesting because we get a lot of hands on experiences with animals. I was really upset the semester ended so early because I missed out on numerous labs like visiting the horses and seeing how sheep get sheered.
 
Who are the teammates, past and present, who have helped you at WSU (In and out of the pool)? 
That's a really tough question to answer because every single one of my teammates helped me tremendously this past year one way or another. However, some people that helped me a lot in the pool were Jewel Springer, Taylor McCoy, and Kate Laderoute because we trained backstroke together and they always pushed me. I have to mention my lifting partner, Payton Bokowy because she was always super sweet and taught me the ways of Bohler Gym. My fellow New Mexican, Lauren Burckel, was also a great help when it came to adjusting to college and she always had helpful tips, especially when it came to academics. Last, Ryan Falk and Luci Brock, our two seniors, were two girls I looked up to a lot this past season and were the epitome of a Coug.