Feb. 4, 2017
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Members of the Vanderbilt swim team gathered in the Hendrix room at the McGugin Center for a special “Draft Day” press conference Saturday afternoon. The team welcomed 12-year-old Audrey Williams as she signed her National Letter of Intent to join the Vanderbilt swim program.
“This is such a great opportunity for our girls to give back and have somebody involved with the team such as Audrey,” said head coach Jeremy Organ. “It gives the team an opportunity to go out and do special things with Audrey. We have only been a part of this for over a month now but the feedback has been terrific.”
“We were so excited for Audrey to become part of the team,” said junior Kara Lucenti. “Since then, we have really made an effort to get together with Audrey in smaller and bigger settings. Audrey just had a performance at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and about five or six of us went and cheered for her so it was awesome to cheer her on in things outside of the pool.”
Audrey and the Vanderbilt swim team were partnered through Team IMPACT, a non-profit organization based out of Boston. Their goal is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illness through the power of team. Since Team IMPACT was established in 2011, they have matched over 1,100 children with collegiate teams at over 450 institutions.
Audrey was diagnosed with a brain tumor called Oliodendroglioma in April 2014, and has since undergone three surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy. Since partnering with Team IMPACT, Audrey has attended Vanderbilt swim competitions and practices as an honorary member of the team. Today, she officially became a member of the Vanderbilt swim team with the signing of her letter of intent.
There was a cake celebration with Audrey and her new teammates that followed today’s press conference. After that, Audrey and her family went across the street to Memorial Gym to catch the men’s basketball game against Ole Miss.
Check back later next week, as there will be a video recapping all of the events from today’s “Draft Day” press conference.