2021-22 Standard-Times Girls Swimmer of the Year: New Bedford's Cynthia Torres
Unlike many of her counterparts, Cynthia Torres didn’t grow up taking swim lessons.
“A family member throws you into a pool and you have to figure it out,” she said of her introduction to the world of swimming.
Torres got her first formal swim instructions in the eighth grade when her friend, Sara Curry, talked her into joining New Bedford High’s swim team.
“I grew up playing soccer since I was a really young child and I was bored of it,” she recalled. “When Sara suggested it, I said, ‘I’ll try it out.’
“I ended up liking it and I was able to move up quickly.”
In just four years, Torres has developed into one of the SouthCoast’s top swimmers. She was instrumental in New Bedford’s Southeast Conference championship season, earning her the 2021-22 Standard-Times Girls Swimmer of the Year award.
“A lot of the girls she swims against have been swimming year round and she can swim against them and beat them,” said New Bedford coach Koby Verran. “She just kind of took to the sport. She has the drive and the dedication.
“For her, she loves being around the people on the team. She’s a hard worker and she’s driven. She wanted to go faster.”
As Torres was learning the strokes, she was primarily a distance freestyler her first two years.
“Her eighth and ninth grade seasons, Cynthia and Sara were in a lot of distance events together,” Verran said. “We started noticing her sprinting was getting much better.”
When in-person meets were canceled for the 2020-21 season, it opened the door for Torres to try different events.
“We had our own time trials,” Torres said. “It was fun in a way. We were a small team and we were close. We were all able to swim new events.”
Torres found the perfect fit with the 50 and 100 freestyle — a pair of events she went on to qualify this winter in for the South Sectional championship meet.
“She ended up being our top sprinter,” Verran said. “It was between her and Annabelle (Huston). They were neck and neck.”
Torres added, “Annabelle and I were racing the whole season trying to make each other better and it really does make you better. It gave me motivation.”
Torres said as she began to become more serious in the sport, she saw her times drop.
“First few years I did it for fun,” she said. “Now I definitely focused on it more this year. I do other sports so I stay in shape, but I only swim during the high school season. This year I wish I could have done more preseason. It’s all about the work you put in and the practices in it.”
Torres said she thought she had hit a wall this season, but started to push herself even more as she worked toward qualifying for Sectionals.
“If you don’t keep up the hard work and the athleticism to take you there, you get stuck at a point. I thought I had hit that,” she said. “I just really started to think I’m the only person that knows how hard I’m working now. I really tried on the sprint sets. I think that hard work and having the motivation is going to take you up there.”
During the last regular season meet, Torres qualified for Sectionals in the 100 freestyle. She punched her ticket in the 50 freestyle at the SEC championship meet.
“That was a big deal for me,” she said. “I was seeded second for the 50 freestyle. I had to cut my time to qualify for sectionals and that was the last meet to do it.
“I just really put my mind to it. I was able to beat her. I was really proud. It was something I was building toward.”
Winning the conference title as a team was also gratifying for Torres, a junior co-captain.
“It was a great season,” she said. “We were expecting to have a good team and it turned out great. The connection we had on our team made winning so much more exciting.”
Torres said she thrives off of the individual focus in swimming.
“I really enjoy the race,” she said. “I think I'm a pretty competitive person. I like that it’s all on you. There is no one to blame but yourself. I enjoy that. It’s a very simple sport to compete in.”
Torres has lofty goals for her senior year as she looks to qualify for states in both the 50 and 100.
“I’ll work as hard as I can,” she said. “I have to give a lot of props to our coaches. They were able to recognize what I was good at and build me into the swimmer I am today.”
ALL ABOUT CYNTHIA TORRES
WHY SHE WAS SELECTED: As New Bedford’s overall high point scorer, Torres was the driving force behind the Whalers run to an undefeated Southeast Conference regular season championship and the conference meet title.
KEY STATS: At the South Sectional meet, Torres swam a 26.52 to place 12th in the 50 freestyle and 58.06 to take 14th place in the 100 freestyle. She also anchored the 200 and 400 freestyle relays at both the South Sectional meet and Div. 1 State Championship.
MVP MOMENT: Torres won both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle to score a team-high 40 points at the Southeast Conference championship to help the Whalers take first as a team.
NEW BEDFORD COACH TIM CURRY: “Cynthia is a great racer and competitor who always did what it takes in practice to become better.”
NOTES: Torres’ older sister, Anna, played volleyball at New Bedford High before graduating in 2018. … While Torres was born in Brazil and most of family is still there, the 16-year-old lives in New Bedford with her mother, Vanessa. … Torres also plays field hockey for New Bedford.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: New Bedford's Cynthia Torres is the 2021-22 Swimmer of the Year
