FAU Celebrates NGWSD
2/3/2021
Florida Atlantic University athletics is proud to participate in National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Today, Feb. 3, marks the 35th annual NGWSD celebration, with this day set to inspire girls and women to play and be active in sports. Abby Marshall, a senior on the women’s
swimming & diving team, is an imminent example for girls to look up in sports, academics and her future career in engineering.
Abby Marshall is a senior and four-year member of the FAU swimming & diving team. The epitome of a student-athlete, when not in the pool or training for her next meet, Marshall is most likely hitting the books as a civil engineering major.
The Altamonte Springs, Florida native started to get serious with swimming in middle school, competing at a high level for the past 12 years. In the sport specifically, Natalie Coughlin, a 12-time Olympic medalist, was an easy swimmer to look up to. Marshall also admires Katie Ledecky, who is training toward having a successful 2021 Tokyo Olympics and is arguably one of the best female swimmers actively competing.
NGWSD honors the achievements of female athletes, coaches and leaders, while continuing to Lead Her Forward by accepting the power sports has to open vast potential. Marshall is one of those leaders, as young girls and even her own teammates look up to her for her competitive spirit, leadership and determination not only in the pool, but in academia and her pursuit for a successful life post-graduation.
“Abby is the epitome of a loyal teammate. She is passionate, determined and most of all, she is reliable. I know that the entire team can count on her to not only show up and give 100% on the pool deck, but we also can rely on her to be a supportive and encouraging teammate off the pool deck,” said teammate Allyson Schwarz.
Marshall is a C-USA Third Team recipient, C-USA All-Academic Team honoree and three-time C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll member. She won the silver medal in the 100 back as a freshman, breaking a school record while doing so in 5a time of 4.55. That same year in 2018, Marshall was tabbed as a CSCAA Scholar All-American selection.
The story in how Marshall broke the 100 back record is a funny one. Marshall was recruited to swim at FAU as a breaststroker. During her rookie year, she primarily swam the freestyle and breaststroke with an occasional appearance in the 100 back later on in the season. When the lineup came out for the 2018 Conference USA Championships, the coaches saw that Marshall was seeded higher in the 100 back. Despite not training the stroke heavily that season, Marshall decided to give it a whirl and that day turned out to be a memorable one.
“That was the best day of my life,” Marshall said while looking back on the day she broke the school record. “As a freshman, to come in and change the team in that way and show them what I can do was incredible. That moment I got out of the pool, my entire team hugged me. It was the best moment ever.”
Marshall’s mother was also timing the event so she was behind the blocks when Marshall clocked in. Her mother was the first person she hugged and she remembers that exchange being the best feeling in the world.
Triumphant moments like the one Marshall felt after setting the new 100 back record are memories she will never forget during her time as a student-athlete. The lessons she learned along the way hold greater meaning, as they will help her in life after her swimming career is over.
“[Being a student-athlete] gives you a path and a direction to move forward in,” said Marshall. “It helps you learn how to be discipline and manage your time, while learning how to succeed in two very different things: school and your sport. You can’t do one without the other.”
Pursuing a degree in higher education while being a Division I athlete has also helped Marshall develop a myriad of positive personality traits that will carry on with her for the rest of her life.
“With athletics, you are always trying to be faster,” said Marshall. “There is not always a stopping point and you are always continuing. As a student-athlete, you don’t want to do stupid things that will risk your eligibility. You put that in the real world, and you don’t do things that will risk your job, marriage or all these different things.”
Marshall also notes how being a student-athlete has helped her learn how to work hard, be respectful toward teammates and coaches and develop great sportsmanship.
Like other female student-athletes, Marshall benefits from Title IX, which gives women equal opportunities in sports at educational institutions that receive federal funds. Marshall was able to continue competition in the sport she loves, which receiving a world-class education at FAU because of the opportunities Title IX and her scholarship provides.
Although Marshall’s time competitively swimming is coming to an end as graduation looms closer, she can’t imagine the past dozen years of her life without strapping on her cap and goggles, lining up on the starting blocks and feeling the adrenaline rush after hearing “take your mark” over the intercom.
“I think I would be devastated [without swimming] because it has been my life for 12 years,” said Marshall. “I wouldn’t know what to do. It would feel very lonely and like I had a void in my life if it were just ripped away from me.”
Marshall’s athletic scholarship means the world to her. The past four years would have looked quite different if she hadn’t received one.
“My scholarship has allowed me to be here,” said Marshall. “If I didn’t get a scholarship to come to FAU, I would not have gone here. I would have stayed home and I don’t know if I would have swam in college because it’s hard to pay for school.”
Marshall’s time in Paradise has also given her experiences she will never forget. Living 1.8 miles from the beach never gets old.
“I love it down here,” said Marshall. “[Going to school in Paradise] means I can go to the beach whenever I want and enjoy the sun. It’s the middle of winter and you can go to the beach without an issue. We have the prettiest sunrises and sunsets and some of those things make practices worth it.”
Marshall will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering. This career path was easy for Marshall to take, as she went through the four-year program at Lyman High School, an engineering magnet school. Her mother also earned an engineering degree.
Civil engineering provides a big umbrella of things Marshall can do. She has never thought of being a woman in STEM as being something she had to overcome, but loves the support other women give each other in a field predominantly occupied by men.
“I was just always good at math and science and had good grades,” said Marshall. “Stuff like this always came fairly easy to me. I think it is awesome we have women in engineering and I’m glad to be a part of it and help literally build my future.”
From the pool to the classroom to the workforce, we have enjoyed watching Marshall build for a successful future and can’t wait to see how she continues to make an impact on others, no matter how big or small.
“It is a privilege to swim at the collegiate level,” said Marshall. “Not everyone gets to do it and not everyone gets to do it with a scholarship like I have. I get to earn a degree and go out into the world having learned so many skills from the university and athletics. [Swimming at the collegiate level] has given me a forever FAU family.”
