Looking Back on Kevin Gillooly's Rowan Career Ahead of the NCAA Championships
Matt Green | March 2022
 
 
Broken NCAA records, conference championships, and numerous races won in the water are all things that Kevin Gillooly, a five-year swimmer here at Rowan University, has accomplished in his career. There is no doubt that throughout his time as a Prof, he has used his talent to bring success to Rowan Swimming and Diving, and has completely change the culture of the program. Largely thanks to his successes, people think of "winning" when talking about Rowan's water sports.
 
Gillooly began his career as an NCAA swimmer back as a freshman during the 2017-2018 season. While he was a talented swimmer coming into the program, his ability to learn and strive to become better is what helped propel him to where he is now.
 
"He was always a really good swimmer," said Rowan Head Coach Brad Bowser. "But he needed a little push to get to that next level. From his freshman year to his sophomore year, he learned how to handle himself both in the pool and externally. What changed the most was his mental attack, which was the most impactful change that I have seen from him in his years here."
 
Since his sophomore year in 2018-2019, he has held Rowan's top times in the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter freestyle each season. He currently holds the school's best time ever recorded in the 50 freestyle after completing the swim in 19.52 seconds at this year's Metropolitan Championship races. That stands as the fifth-fastest recorded time in NCAA Division III history.
 
Before leaving Rowan, though, Gillooly will have one more opportunity to compete this upcoming week in the NCAA championship races. For him, it is one last opportunity to cement his name in history and do what he loves at the collegiate level.
 
"I want to bring a national championship back home to Rowan," said Gillooly on the upcoming competition. "I am the top seed in the fifty [freestyle] by a large margin, but winning is not really enough for me. My goal is to break the national record. It's my last time as a collegiate swimmer, so I just want to have fun."
 
While breaking records in the water certainly seems like Gillooly's favorite form of fun, he wants to be remembered for more than just his swimming achievements when it is all said and done. 
 
"I don't want to be remembered at this school by just what I accomplished in the pool," Gillooly said. "I decided to start getting involved in a lot of social justice movements around the campus, and I've started to create dialogue like that within the athletic department. I really just want to be remembered for who I am as a person, my poise, and my leadership."
 
Even when Gillooly is no longer a Prof, he will be remembered by his peers, coaches, and teammates for his many contributions to the program. His head coach of five years, Brad Bowser, believes that Gillooly has done enough to earn himself an eventual spot into the Rowan Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"I look at the criteria [to get into the Hall of Fame], and he has checked every box," said Coach Bowser. "He has broken records in the freestyle, he owns both backstroke records, and he has the one-hundred fly record. He is the fastest swimmer in Rowan history."
 
Whether it is a Hall of Fame induction, a professional career, or both, it is unclear what the future holds for Kevin Gillooly and his swimming career. However, there is no denying that he has been one of the most successful athletes to ever compete for Rowan University, and his legacy in and out of the pool will be long remembered by those within and around the Swimming and Diving program. Gillooly will make his final collegiate swim this week, but the impact that he will be leaving behind him is nothing short of a new standard for current and future Rowan water athletes.