Centre College swimmers Natalie Cox, left, Kendall Somers.
As much as they enjoyed the team training and bonding during the Centre College swim and dive team’s trip to Italy, sophomores Natalie Cox of Madison, Miss., and Kendall Somers of Dallas also really liked the food.
“Sometimes I can be a little picky when it comes to exotic food,” said Somers. “Some things might have been out of my comfort zone but we always had these really big meals. Back in the States I can fill up on PB&J (peanut butter and jelly) but that culture (in Italy) consumes so many carbs.
“I think I tried a new pasta dish every day. No matter where we went, even if it was just a hole in the wall type of place, the food was great.”
Cox enjoyed the four-course meals that featured the “best pasta” she had ever had along with delightful desserts with gelato being her favorite.
“We ate the pasta first and I thought I was done the first night,” she said. “About an hour later they came back with his big hunk of meat with potatoes and a salad and then a dessert. Of course, I sample a little wine with the dinner option. It was just a wonderful dining experience.”
The Colonels spent time in Rome, Vatican City, Naples, Pompeii, and the towns along the Amalfi Coast during their 11-day trip. Somers had been to Rome, Venice and Florence before but it was her first time to visit the Amalfi coast.
“Our view from the hotel was insane. Being there and looking out off the back deck was beautiful beyond words. Our beach day in Sorrento was crazy. We were sitting on the beach and jumping off rocks. You would never see cliff jumping like that back at Gulf Shores in Alabama.”
Cox enjoyed the beach day and jumping off the rocks but spending time in ancient Rome and Pompeii were also special. “You learned so much more than you ever could in the classroom and our guides were awesome,” Cox said.
She loved Vatican City even though she did not get to go to St. Peter’s Basilica . Some teammates went to mass, something she regrets not doing. However, she did see the legendary Trevi Fountain in Rome.
“I have watched movies where people made a wish and threw coins into the fountain. Friends got a video of me doing that. I did make a wish but I will keep that secret,” she said.
Somers thought it was “cool to be let loose” with teammates on the trip and enjoyed having a chance to shop for souvenirs. She found one local shop where all the water color drawings/paintings had been done by the owner.
“I bought five different postcards that were handmade and really cool. I think I am going to hang them up in my dorm room as mini art work,” she said.
She also appreciated the historical insights Centre professor Amos Tubb provided for her and teammates at various historical sights. “He knew a lot. If he was not there, a lot of kids might not have stopped and appreciated what was in front of us,” Somers said.
Somers was captain of both the swim and water polo teams in high school even though she only played water polo her final two years. She enjoyed the high level tournaments and had a lot of teammates recruited to play at west coast schools. She liked having to have both agility and speed in the water and learning how to “sneak” around someone guarding her.
“It took a lot of aggression and agility but it made me a better swimmer. It gave me more leg power. Throwing the ball was tough. Keeping yourself up for 10 to 15 straight minutes was tough. I am a sprinter (in swimming) and you do that for one or two minutes. But playing water polo was fun and did help me,” she said.
Cox was nominated for Mississippi high school swimmer of the year both her junior and senior seasons. Centre checked all the boxes she was looking for in a college because she could swim and get the education she needed as a pre-med major. She reached out to the coaches, got a call back and fell in love with the school. Now there is another swimmer from her hometown coming to Centre, too.
“A lot of people back home had never heard of Centre College but now they have,” she said. “Our trip to Italy is going to help a lot more people know about Centre College, too, because no other swim team does anything like that. I had no idea we would make a trip like this when I picked Centre and it was just so special for all of us.”
