Talk about making a big splash! This young man who calls Lake Forest home could swim before he could walk; at age 10, he set a national backstroke record; and today, following a storybook swimming career at Lake Forest High School, Northwestern University Junior Matt Grevers is considered one of the best swimmers in the world.

Matt’s passion for the water came at an early age. When his parents arrived from Holland in 1975, the first thing his father did was construct a pool at their new home in Gurnee. “He did it for my mom who loved to swim and was in the Dutch trials,” says Matt. Through the years, Anja Grevers used the backyard pool to give swimming lessons to children, including Matt’s two older siblings. When Matt was born in 1985, he grew up poolside. “I had to swim just to keep up with my family,” he explains with a grin. The family moved to Lake Forest when Matt was in fifth grade.

During his four years at LFHS, the young swimming sensation set a number of individual records for which he received an impressive list of recognitions. During his senior season, he led the Scouts to the school’s first state title in boys swimming, earning the title of Swimming World National High School Champion.

Graduating in 2003 as the number one swimming recruit in the country, Matt received scholarship offers from some of the top college swimming programs in the country, including Auburn, California, and Texas. He ultimately chose to attend Northwestern. “Some people wonder why I didn’t choose a college with a swimming powerhouse,” says Matt. “Northwestern was very appealing to me, not only because of its academic excellence, but because they had a growing swim program where the emphasis was on camaraderie and working as a team. I wanted to be somewhere where I could make a difference.” And that’s just what he is doing. Before joining Northwestern, the Wildcats finished 26th in the NCAA Championships; last year they finished 8th. “We are still not a powerhouse, but we are one of the top 10 teams in the country,” Matt says proudly.

At Northwestern University, the six-foot, eight-inch junior was the Big 10 freshman of the year and has twice been named outstanding swimmer at the conference’s annual championship meet. But he officially hit the big time last March when he pulled off an upset at the NCAA Championship by winning the 100-yard backstroke, defeating Olympic Medalist Ryan Lochte who hadn’t lost that race all season. With that victory, Matt became Northwestern’s first men’s national swim champ since 1958. At the same time, he picked up top 10 finishes in two freestyle races. Just one month later, at a qualifying meet for the upcoming world championships, Matt posted the third-fastest 100-meter backstroke in the world with a 54.24-second time that would have earned him silver at the 2004 Olympics. As a third place finisher, Matt did not qualify for the world championships, but he did get the opportunity to participate in the August 2005 World University Games in Izmir, Turkey, where he earned two silver and two bronze medals. In the final swimming event, he swam the backstroke leg of the 400-medley relay to help propel the U.S. squad to a second-place finish. “It was exciting, but pretty exhausting,” admits Matt, speaking not only about the races but the nearly 60 hours in travel time getting to and from Turkey.

Matt claims that his parents, Ed and Anja, and his siblings, Carolyn, 26, and Andy, 24, have been his greatest sources of inspiration. “We are a very close family. They’ve always been there to cheer me on.” But according to Northwestern’s head swim coach, Matt himself is an inspiration to others. “He is not about himself as much as he is about the team,” says Bob Groseth. “He is a well-rounded kid who has inspired many of the guys on the team. That’s what I call a leader.”

Following another summer of work as a pool lifeguard at The Lake Forest Club, Matt returned to school in Evanston in September, determined to defend his NCAA title. Soon afterward, it was announced that he had earned a spot on the U.S. National A Team based on his number three position in the latest world rankings. He maintains a rigorous schedule of daily workouts before classes from 6 to 7:30 a.m., and after classes from 3 to 5:30 p.m. Weekends without meets present opportunities for additional practice. “Most days I could work harder,” Matt says. “What I really swim for is the race.” With his sights set for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he knows he has to become an even better swimmer. He anticipates graduating from college in 2007 and plans to take the year that follows to really focus. “Right now I am ranked third in the world in the backstroke,” he says. “The two guys ahead of me are both from the U.S., and to make the Olympic Team, you have to be in the top two. I really think I can get there—I should be in my prime by then.”

Just spend a little time with this confident but easygoing water powerhouse, and you will believe it, too!