A freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Auckland, Edie Ancell signed with Monmouth University in New Jersey knowing exactly what she was looking for. Four years later, she found it.
Edie Ancell knew what she wanted from the college pathway before she had even started looking properly. Not a particular division, not a particular state, not a particular ranking. She wanted a team.
That might sound straightforward, but it is actually one of the more honest and self-aware things a young swimmer can identify going into the recruitment process. Swimming in New Zealand, as Edie put it herself, can feel deeply individualistic. Times, rankings, personal bests. The work is often done alone, and the competition is often against yourself. She had loved the sport her whole life, but she had also played netball and water polo, and she understood what it felt like to be part of something collective, to contribute to a result that belonged to everyone.
In her own words: "The big thing that excites me about the US college system is the team aspect of it all. I consider myself an extroverted person and have missed that team environment since I stopped playing netball and water polo. I'm hoping that I can join a programme that is a very close-knit, bubbly team full of excitement where we all support each other in achieving our own goals."
That clarity shaped where she looked and what she chose. Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, offered the team culture she was searching for, and it turned out to be exactly the environment she needed.
Edie developed her swimming in Auckland, attending Mount Albert Grammar School before beginning the recruitment process with Platform Sports. The source of her motivation was clear from the start: she was not simply a swimmer looking for a scholarship. She was an athlete who understood herself well enough to know what kind of environment would bring the best out of her.
That kind of self-knowledge is more useful in the recruitment process than many families realise. Athletes who can articulate what they need from a programme, beyond the obvious desire to compete and improve, give coaches and recruitment support teams something specific to work with. It also tends to produce better decisions, because the shortlist is built around genuine fit rather than name recognition or division alone.
Edie was also coming from a background in multiple sports, which tends to produce athletes who understand the value of a team structure and bring a different kind of energy and adaptability to a squad. Both qualities have been evident throughout her time at Monmouth.
Edie arrived at Monmouth University in the autumn of 2022 and made an immediate contribution. In her freshman season she was part of the 200-yard freestyle relay team that broke a Monmouth school record at the ECAC Championships in December 2022, taking down a record that had stood since 2018. She also won the 100-yard freestyle in a dual meet that season, her first individual victory for the Hawks.
The improvement continued steadily from there. By her senior season in 2024-25 she had developed into one of the most reliable performers on the squad, recording four individual first-place finishes across the season. At the ECAC Winter Championship she finished first in the 50-yard freestyle, second in the 100-yard freestyle, and fifth in the 200-yard freestyle. At the conference championships she was part of two record-breaking relay teams, setting new Monmouth records in both the 800 Free Relay and the 400 Free Relay, performances that reflect exactly the kind of team contribution she had come to the United States specifically to make.
That arc from freshman school record to senior conference record-setter, across four consistent seasons, is precisely what a well-chosen college environment tends to produce.
Edie's quote about the team environment is worth returning to because it describes something the recruitment process does not always get credit for producing. She was not just placed in a programme. She was placed in the right programme for who she is as a person, and the difference between those two things is significant.
The dual meets, the relay teams, the collective effort of a conference championship push: all of it delivered what she had identified as essential before she signed. Scoring points for a team, competing in environments where individual performances feed into a shared result, being part of a squad that supports each other through a long season. Those were the things she wanted, and Monmouth delivered them.
For families thinking about the college swimming pathway, Edie's story is a useful reminder that the recruitment conversation should not start with times and rankings alone. It should also start with an honest conversation about what kind of athlete and what kind of person is being placed, and what environment will genuinely help them flourish.
Edie Ancell arrived at Monmouth University as a swimmer from Auckland who wanted more than just competitive swimming. She wanted the team. Four years later, she leaves having broken school records, competed at championship level, and found exactly the environment she was looking for on the other side of the world.
The college pathway made that possible. But it was the clarity she brought to the process, knowing what she needed and being honest about it, that made sure the right door opened.
If you are a student-athlete or parent trying to understand the U.S. college pathway, start with a conversation. Platform Sports can help you understand your options, your timeline, and what the right fit could look like.
