In swimming, the move from high school star to freshmen nobody can be a difficult one. There are no expectations, no national signing days or one-year stopovers. Success only comes from hard work and dedication.

And freshman Peter Park wouldn’t have it any other way.

“[Coach Bob Groseth] once said to us as a team ‘Pain is self-induced,'” Park said. “I’ve learned to use this phrase to challenge myself every day to push beyond my expectations.”

This attitude has served the him well in his first season at Northwestern. A first-team All-Prep swimmer in high school, Park’s dedication and team-first mentality was a perfect fit for a rebuilding Wildcats’ squad. But Park said this season has been somewhat of an adjustment.

“In high school, our focus as a team had always been toward the end of the season,” he said. “Here at NU, I feel that the coaches and everyone else on the team place an equal amount of importance on an in-season meet.”

But with the team’s relative inexperience, Park has had little time to adjust to collegiate competition. A versatile swimmer, Park already has three individual wins this season. His victory in the 1,000 free over Notre Dame on Jan. 19 was one of the races of the year and a key to the Cats’ victory, Groseth said.

But Park has had difficulty toning down his intensity in practice, leaving himself worn out for weekend races.

“He is learning how to train and get better without killing himself,” Groseth said. “He didn’t do that in Dallas … but did against Notre Dame and swam a very good race.”

Park said training has been an adjustment, but he feels as if it’s finally beginning to pay off.

“The training here focuses much more on quality than quantity,” he said. “But I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in technique as well as my ability better.”

In fact, Park’s improvement reminds Groseth a lot of the development of one of NU’s star swimmers: junior Eric Nilsson.

“Brian Davis was here when Eric was a freshman and really taught him how to train,” Groseth said. “Eric is doing the same thing for Peter. He’s setting a good example of how to do sets, swim fast in practice and when to hold back, and I think Peter’s learning that lesson.”

After a two-week break, Park will try to carry momentum from his last win into the team’s final dual-meet this weekend with Ohio State and Penn State in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“I’m just starting to understand what makes Peter tick,” Groseth said. “If I’m right, I think he’ll have a chance to swim real fast in Ann Arbor.”

Reach James Graham at [email protected].