If you ask Wisconsin Rapids varsity swimmer Tabi Dorshorst what she thought she would be doing a year ago today, her answer may surprise you.
"Definitley not swimming," she said.
That's because the last three years Tabi has spent the fall playing varsity tennis to get in shape for another season of being one of the best gymnasts in the state.
"I was actually ranked fifth in the state. I was starting to look at d3 colleges."
But then her world was flipped upside down when she tore her ACL during warm ups for a gymnastics invitational in February.
"It was very upsetting. I think if you talk to my friends they would tell you I wasn't really sure what to do with myself."
Looking for an outlet she turned to swimming
"When they told me tennis wasn't an option anymore, I felt like I needed to do something active."
So she emailed varsity swim coach Keri Siekert.
"Her email was pretty interesting, very humble," Siekert said, 'coach I'd like to if its possible join the swim team. You don't need to put me in any events, I'm not looking to take anyone's position. I just would like to rehab my knee and be a part of the team."
Her times in tryouts were good enough to earn her a spot on the varsity team. But then she faced another challenge. The injury on her knee prohibited her from jumping from the block. She had to start all of her races from the water, giving her a one-to-two second disadvantage against other swimmers
"I felt like everyone was looking at me, not really sure what happened," Dorshorst said.
Despite having all the odds against, Tabi made it through the entire season as a competitive swimmer for the Rapids swim team, and it turns out the time in the pool sped up the rehab process and Tabi's dream of being a collegiate gymnast are still not over.
"I'm not sure about my high school but if i can just train up and make a college team I'd be really thrilled."
