Nan Liu has had a long journey to swim at Iowa State’s Beyer Pool. Born in Dalian, China, she made the decision to pursue a collegiate swimming career at Northern Colorado and began the adjustment to becoming an American swimmer.

While at Northern Colorado, Liu made a name for herself both individually and as a team member. Then, Liu decided to make a change and came to Ames to be a Cyclone.

“It just wasn’t a good fit for me,” Liu said. “The coaches that run this program here were a main factor in my decision to transfer to Iowa State.”

Liu, who is majoring in kinesiology and health, brings her love of competition and international swim experience to Iowa State after having competed and excelled in the tough competition of Chinese swimming.

Liu participated in the National Games and Chinese Championships and was awarded the Outstanding Junior Swimmer Award by the Chinese Swimming Association and named Most Outstanding Athlete by the Liao Ning Province. Nan’s experience has allowed her to take a large step toward being a leader for the Cyclone swimming program.

Liu sat out last year’s swim season due to the NCAA rule that requires athletes who transfer programs to sit out the first season at their new program, and she is down to her last season of eligibility as a senior. Liu said she has noticed a difference between her performances two years ago at Northern Colorado and at Iowa State.

“The competition in the Big 12 is better than that of Conference USA; everyone you go up against seems to be better, faster,” Liu said.

Teammates say Liu is an incredible competitor, and her drive and dedication are things the coaching staff hopes will have a positive effect on the rest of the team.

Her performances so far this season have spoken for themselves as she posted wins in the backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events of various distances.

Liu holds six individual school records and swam a part of the setting of four new relay records.

The next time the Cyclones will see competition is this Friday at the Northwestern Invitational, which is the first meet the team has had since Oct. 31. The time off is something that isn’t entailed in other sports, but it won’t affect the team, Liu said.

“The long break gives the team a good opportunity to train and more time to recover,” Liu said.

Liu is looking forward to finishing off her collegiate career the right way at Iowa State. Her return to competitive swimming has returned her to the life she’s used to.

“Last year was just a wasted year; it’s a weird feeling having to miss out on actual competitive swimming,” Liu said.

Liu is making up for lost time this season, leading Iowa State to its current 4–1 record.

Liu has also already become someone the underclassmen look to, even having only swam in five meets as a Cyclone. The team has benefited from her outstanding performances, and she is more than willing to act as a leader for the young team.