University of Pittsburgh Athletics
Off Script: Daigneault Setting Standard for Pitt Swimming
1/12/2018 12:30:00 PM | General, Swimming & Diving
Quebec Native Dominating In and Out of the Pool
It's only natural that the pool has become the favorite place to escape for Valerie Daigneault. Around her, the water becomes a shield, making her everyday worries completely inaccessible.
"It's a place where you can go and you don't think," says Daigneault, a standout sophomore swimmer at the University of Pittsburgh. "You can have all of your stress in your day bundled up. But honestly, for the two hours that you're in the pool, you can forget about everything else."
It is fitting that her favorite place of solace has also seen so many of her life's great accomplishments.
Since joining the Pitt swimming team as a freshman in 2016, Daigneault has already managed to set—and repeatedly lower—the women's school record for the 200-yard backstroke. She also etched her name in the Pitt record books by anchoring the team's record-setting 200-yard freestyle relay at the 2017 ACC Championships in her debut at the conference meet.
For Daigneault, her successes stem from a competitive streak that began in childhood.
"I fell in love with the sport because of racing," explains the native of Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada. "I just loved to race and loved to be in an environment where racing was something that was encouraged."
Having an older sister less than two years apart in age certainly boosted Valerie's competitive spirit.
Gabby Daigneault, currently a senior on the Villanova women's swimming team, has been everything to her younger sister—a dear friend, a lifelong competitor, and at the same time, someone whose example Valerie strove to follow.
A shared hobby that was born from scheduling convenience has become integral in both of their lives in a way that Valerie has come to appreciate.
"Gabby pushes me to be a better person," says Valerie, one of 11 international student-athletes currently on the Pitt swimming & diving rosters. "She committed to an American college. She got the scholarship to a Division 1 school. So for me, it was like, 'I want to do that. I want to accomplish those things, too.' I don't know if she sees it as that, but I see her as a role model in that sense."
Over the years, both her sister and the sport of swimming have provided a source of stability in Valerie's life. The Daigneault family moved 13 times during her childhood. That's because her father, J.J., enjoyed a lengthy career in the National Hockey League, first as a player for 10 different teams, including a two-season stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and most recently has an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens for the past six years.
Along with always having an "automatic best friend" in her sister, Gabby, to rely on, Valerie found that joining swim teams gave her a steady source of friends and support wherever she happened to end up.
"Joining a swim team made moving significantly easier, because you kind of already know that you have friends," Daigneault says. "Even though you don't know the people, you know that since we train together every day, they're going to be my friends. I think that probably made me into the person I am today. Moving made me more social, for sure. It made me be like, 'alright, I have to make friends.' You don't want to move some place and have nobody to talk to."
Daigneault's affable personality—combined with her fast times and accolades in the pool—allowed her to quickly rise into a leadership position with the Pitt swimming program. Despite being just a sophomore, Daigneault serves as a team captain for the Panthers, an extremely rare feat for an underclassmen at this level.
For second-year Pitt swimming and diving head coach John Hargis, having someone as talented and vocal as Valerie has been a huge boost in his efforts to improve the Panthers' program.
"She's obviously a vital part of the team from a performance aspect, but our young people rely on her on her upbeat personality, too," says Hargis, who was a gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer for the United States at the Atlanta Summer Games in 1996. "Her only being a sophomore and that reliance being already there speaks volumes about her character and about her as a teammate."
Daigneault's pursuit of an undergraduate degree in rhetoric & communication appears to be a fit given her personality and interests, which include being active in the campus community at Pitt. In fact, one of Valerie's preferred activities is attending Panthers' athletic events, especially football games.
"I go to all of the Pitt football games," Daigneault proudly states. "People don't realize how great of an experience it is until they can't go to the games anymore. I don't want to be a person that says, 'I can't go to these games anymore. I should have gone as a sophomore,' you know? So even when it's hard, I wake up on those Saturdays and go to Heinz Field because I love to support my team, my university."
Through watching her father's lengthy career in the NHL, Valerie understands the importance of team success in uplifting one's individual career. And as she continues to improve her own times, set records and help Pitt score points at ACC and potentially NCAA meets in the future, she will also be putting herself in a position to compete for a place on the Canadian national team at upcoming international swimming competitions, most notably the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
"The growth in her these next few years will be huge," Hargis adds. "Her maturation process as an athlete is going to be fun to watch, and it's going to be fun to be a part of. She is capable of doing some pretty special things, not only as an NCAA athlete, but possibly even as an international athlete."
Having been raised by a famous family of athletes, Daigneault continues to be fueled by the competitive nature that first got her started. And at Pitt, she has found another place she can call home.
"I want to win and be the best because I want to give points to our team," Daigneault says. "I want Pitt to be the best team in the nation. I want Pitt to succeed. And I know that my accomplishments can help the team accomplish our goals."
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"It's a place where you can go and you don't think," says Daigneault, a standout sophomore swimmer at the University of Pittsburgh. "You can have all of your stress in your day bundled up. But honestly, for the two hours that you're in the pool, you can forget about everything else."
It is fitting that her favorite place of solace has also seen so many of her life's great accomplishments.
Since joining the Pitt swimming team as a freshman in 2016, Daigneault has already managed to set—and repeatedly lower—the women's school record for the 200-yard backstroke. She also etched her name in the Pitt record books by anchoring the team's record-setting 200-yard freestyle relay at the 2017 ACC Championships in her debut at the conference meet.
For Daigneault, her successes stem from a competitive streak that began in childhood.
"I fell in love with the sport because of racing," explains the native of Mont-Royal, Quebec, Canada. "I just loved to race and loved to be in an environment where racing was something that was encouraged."
Having an older sister less than two years apart in age certainly boosted Valerie's competitive spirit.
Gabby Daigneault, currently a senior on the Villanova women's swimming team, has been everything to her younger sister—a dear friend, a lifelong competitor, and at the same time, someone whose example Valerie strove to follow.
A shared hobby that was born from scheduling convenience has become integral in both of their lives in a way that Valerie has come to appreciate.
"Gabby pushes me to be a better person," says Valerie, one of 11 international student-athletes currently on the Pitt swimming & diving rosters. "She committed to an American college. She got the scholarship to a Division 1 school. So for me, it was like, 'I want to do that. I want to accomplish those things, too.' I don't know if she sees it as that, but I see her as a role model in that sense."
Over the years, both her sister and the sport of swimming have provided a source of stability in Valerie's life. The Daigneault family moved 13 times during her childhood. That's because her father, J.J., enjoyed a lengthy career in the National Hockey League, first as a player for 10 different teams, including a two-season stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and most recently has an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens for the past six years.
Along with always having an "automatic best friend" in her sister, Gabby, to rely on, Valerie found that joining swim teams gave her a steady source of friends and support wherever she happened to end up.
"Joining a swim team made moving significantly easier, because you kind of already know that you have friends," Daigneault says. "Even though you don't know the people, you know that since we train together every day, they're going to be my friends. I think that probably made me into the person I am today. Moving made me more social, for sure. It made me be like, 'alright, I have to make friends.' You don't want to move some place and have nobody to talk to."
Daigneault's affable personality—combined with her fast times and accolades in the pool—allowed her to quickly rise into a leadership position with the Pitt swimming program. Despite being just a sophomore, Daigneault serves as a team captain for the Panthers, an extremely rare feat for an underclassmen at this level.
For second-year Pitt swimming and diving head coach John Hargis, having someone as talented and vocal as Valerie has been a huge boost in his efforts to improve the Panthers' program.
"She's obviously a vital part of the team from a performance aspect, but our young people rely on her on her upbeat personality, too," says Hargis, who was a gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer for the United States at the Atlanta Summer Games in 1996. "Her only being a sophomore and that reliance being already there speaks volumes about her character and about her as a teammate."
Daigneault's pursuit of an undergraduate degree in rhetoric & communication appears to be a fit given her personality and interests, which include being active in the campus community at Pitt. In fact, one of Valerie's preferred activities is attending Panthers' athletic events, especially football games.
"I go to all of the Pitt football games," Daigneault proudly states. "People don't realize how great of an experience it is until they can't go to the games anymore. I don't want to be a person that says, 'I can't go to these games anymore. I should have gone as a sophomore,' you know? So even when it's hard, I wake up on those Saturdays and go to Heinz Field because I love to support my team, my university."
Through watching her father's lengthy career in the NHL, Valerie understands the importance of team success in uplifting one's individual career. And as she continues to improve her own times, set records and help Pitt score points at ACC and potentially NCAA meets in the future, she will also be putting herself in a position to compete for a place on the Canadian national team at upcoming international swimming competitions, most notably the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
"The growth in her these next few years will be huge," Hargis adds. "Her maturation process as an athlete is going to be fun to watch, and it's going to be fun to be a part of. She is capable of doing some pretty special things, not only as an NCAA athlete, but possibly even as an international athlete."
Having been raised by a famous family of athletes, Daigneault continues to be fueled by the competitive nature that first got her started. And at Pitt, she has found another place she can call home.
"I want to win and be the best because I want to give points to our team," Daigneault says. "I want Pitt to be the best team in the nation. I want Pitt to succeed. And I know that my accomplishments can help the team accomplish our goals."
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