Junior Tobias Cahnbley has always been an athlete. Swimming is in his family’s blood. His siblings both swam and loved the sport, so it only made sense for him to follow in their footsteps.

“When I started swimming, it was mainly because of my siblings,” Cahnbley said. “I was about nine years old when I joined, and then from the start, I wasn’t very good, but I progressed quickly.”

The swimmer’s devotion to improving his craft made him fall in love with the sport. When looking at schools to attend, his only concern was the swim program and what they had to offer.

“I think during COVID it was kind of hard to transition to college,” Cahnbley said. “I chose Rowan because I just liked the program and I feel like transitioning from club was very convenient and nice.”

With the season just starting and matches against Stevens and NYU in the rearview mirror, Cahnbley is really dedicating himself to becoming the best swimmer he can be.

“I just needed to work on my endurance and technique,” Cahnbley said. “I was very young and had no idea what to expect ‘till my first four going in. Then I think with the training overall I just got better, and my technique got better and then my endurance got better.”

Cahnbley had two different outlooks going into both of these meets, that very much reflected how the whole thing went. He thought the Stevens meet was a lot of fun because it was his first time back in the water. Regarding the loss against NYU, he noticed that the team seemed to be under the weather, additionally, it was only the second meet of the season. 

“I think we’re kind of getting used to bringing the team together, and I think the first full week was really thought out,” Cahnbley said. “I think we just need to build a little bit more, just the technique and the focus.”

Head coach Brad Bowser mentioned that in Cahnbley’s first year, he really blossomed into being a core of their backstroke group. 

“He has a desire for improvement and wants to become one of the best swimmers that has ever put on the suit for Rowan,” Bowser said. “[He has] really big shoes to fill coming in right after somebody winning a national championship… ever since he committed to Rowan it’s just been a delight working with him.”

Cahnbley will look to keep it rolling this weekend in their meet against Salisbury on Saturday, Nov. 11.

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