If you've been following the University of Hawai'i swimming program over the last four years, a name you've become familiar with is senior long-distance swimmer, Phoebe Hines. Since arriving on the island of O'ahu, Hines has helped elevate the program to new heights including three consecutive MPSF Championships, being named the conference swimmer of the year in 2019, as well as becoming an All-American at last year's NCAA Championships. Hines sat down with Hawai'i Athletics to talk about her time at UH, what she still hopes to accomplish, and what she sees in her future.
 
Question: Being from Australia, what was it like to be recruited by a college so distant from home?
Answer: My experience was different, my coach's son had already gone through the process and was interested in it before it came about. Hawai'i was the only college I personally reached out to. In my case it was less stressful because I only needed to worry about the SAT/ACT and my dad was in to helping out with all the details making it easy on me.
 
Q: What was your thought process like on choosing Hawai'i?
A: At the end of high school I was in a slow spot, I was struggling and not enjoying it very much. I didn't have many people to train with, which made wanting to swim even tougher. I choose Hawai'i because it's close to home being only one flight. I also do not like the cold. I also really related with the vibes of Hawai'i, I was not expecting to progress as much as I have.
 
Q: You choose Hawai'i, what were some of your goals you had when you got here?
A: My degree and swim for four years was my original plan, and to quit swimming after college. That's changed because of my progression, now I'm graduating with my degree and swimming beyond college.
 
Q: How is the college workload, with practices, meets, and schoolwork compared to highschool? Has it gotten any easier over the years?
A: I came from a big program at home, so the training load actually felt like a drop. I used to swim open water 10k, but got injured and switched to only pool after that. So training felt lighter compared to home. School was tough my freshman year, but once I figured out what I wanted to do and figured out to manage school better, it got easier.
 
Q: Before a race, do you have any superstitions or routines that you do to calm nerves or get into the competitive zone?
A: Honestly not really, there are people on the team I know that do. I go through our normal pre-race stuff like meals and warmups. I will have a hot shower between warm up and putting my suit on, but otherwise, no.
 
Q: Your are currently ranked #4 in the nation and have been as high as #1 for the 1650 free event, does this bring more pressure into your life or is it more of a driving force?
A: This year is a lot less pressure, last year I was number one from november to NCAA's, so I had a really good swim at our midseason swim. When I had those times I was getting a lot of media attention about this swimmer from UH and I felt a lot of pressure from it. As for this year, I know what I can do, but I haven't been there yet. It gives me a sort of underdog mentality.
 
Q: Tokyo Olympic qualifications for Australia are around the corner in June, do you plan to compete in qualification for 2020?
A: I will be competing, but my main event is open water 10k. I went home for nationals last week, but that qualification is over as they are taking one male and one female. So I will be focusing on that for Tokyo. I am more looking toward the future because the average age for an open water swimmer at the Olympics is 26, so even though I am looking for good results, I'm more gearing towards my future.
 
Q: If you had to pick another event to swim besides freestyle what would it be and why?
A: Honestly, I don't like any of the other strokes. If I could swim another event it would be sprint freestyle. If I had to, it would be breaststroke because it's probably the only other event I could do without getting disqualified.
 
Q: Hawai'i being so far from other colleges, how does traveling long distance play a role on your mental and physical state when going to a meet?
A: The whole team is in the same situation, but being a senior now I've been through it enough to know what to do for myself. I also travel for other events other than college too, but as you do it more you know what you need to do when you are on the plane, when to eat and drink, and when to nap and not to. When we do travel we go a few days early to let our bodies acclimate.
 
Q: What's next for you beyond collegiate swimming?
A: I will finish officially in March, I will then stay here to train with the coaches for the Olympics. In that time I will be looking for sponsors and all the things a pro athlete will do since I won't be under NCAA restrictions anymore. I'm looking to also volunteer and give back to the kids and people of Hawai'i since I will have more free time. Then I will move home in June just before the trials and work as a pro athlete for six months. Once I get to January, I will start studying at University of the Sunshine Coast. I graduate here with a physical education degree, but I will need to transfer that degree back home to be certified to teach.