By Thomas Sellers Jr.
The beginning process of any pioneer or trailblazer can start innocently.
For Millington Central Middle High School senior Abbi Hendren the road to becoming the first signee for the University of Southern Indiana Swim Team started with a cheerleading injury.
“She had a friend introduce her to it,” Abbi’s mother Holly recalled. “Abbi was a competitive cheerleader, little bitty until the age of 11. It was in Atoka. We were living in Munford at the time. “She got hurt, took a fall,” she continued. “And she didn’t want to tumble anymore. Another one of her friends wanted to try the swim team at the Y in Millington. So she talked Abbi into going with her.
”Abbi went from a Flyin’ Fish to the Bartlett Extreme to competing in State meets to earning a scholarship to USI. On National Signing Day 2021 (November 10), Abbi was joined by friends, family, teammates, school officials and her parents Holly and Scott for her historic signing. Hendren inked her national letter of intent to become the first official member of the Screaming Eagle Swim and Diving program.
“Everything is based on Jesus,” Abbi said. “He leads me everywhere I need to go. I would not be swimming if He didn’t give me the strength to do it. My parents continue to focus me back on that when I get caught up on things. They help me to stay focused on the correct things.”
Once Abbi expressed interest in swimming and displayed collegiate-level ability, Holly and Scott invested in their daughter’s dream.
“She swam for the Y, in their competitive swim team in Memphis called the Flyin’ Fish,” Scott noted. “She swam with them for one year. She kept getting faster and faster.”Abbi’s next step was competing in the U.S. Swim meets.
“She moved to Bartlett to the Extreme Swim,” Scott continued. “She started at 12, one of her first competitive meets. She’s been swimming at Bartlett since she was 12. She’s just a natural. She’s been a gradual, linear climb ever since. Which is great, she swam fast enough at USI desired her.”
With USI having solid engineering programs, Abbi’s desire to major in mechanical engineering pointed her to the school in Evansville.
“The swim team is brand new,” Scott noted. “The pool complex building is brand new. She’ll be part of the first class of recruits at that school. It is quite possible Abbi is the first athlete to sign for swimming at Southern Indiana. That is very impressive. That is history. That will always be engraved in the history of that college.
”Too good to be true were the thoughts of Abbi during her visit to USI. Completely new swim facilities, great coaches and the right academics.
“We were walking out and I was just worried about the choice being too easy and everything was lining up,” Abbi recalled. Then she got a sign from above that USI was the right place.
“I opened the door,” Abbi continued. “He looked like a teacher. He was wearing a Nike pullover. I held the door open from him and he was so appreciative.
”The man in the athletic jumpsuit happened to be the USI President Ronald S. Rochon. The conversation between Rochon and Abbi reassures her that a humble man leading the school will be a secure place for her higher education.
“I feel blessed,” Scott said. “We pray about where our kids will go. Our oldest was the first honor college child. She’s down in Mississippi. Abbi just prayed where she could go. She had trouble finding colleges.
“She wanted to swim and this popped up on our radar like the third or fourth school,” he added. “We just prayed for peace on picking the right university. After visiting she felt it was the place to go. This was before she met the coach or saw the facility. She just had a peace about herself.”
Scott said that the chance meeting with the president was validation for him that his daughter will be fine at USI.
“It’s great how God controls everything,” he said. “She was doubting if it was the right thing to do or if she should go there. We were there before fall break. We went to the pool, saw the coach and took a tour of the facility. We were coming out of the bookstore and she held the door open just being polite. The president of the school walked through.
“We didn’t know it was the president of the school,” he continued. “He could have been a professor for all we knew. He stopped and complimented Abbi on how polite and just being a good human being. He stopped and talked to her. With him being a Christian and so looking forward to the direction of the school and swimming, it is just so amazing to see how God works. God gave us one more sign. For her she needed it, she needed that sign.”
USI Athletics announced the formation of Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving varsity athletic programs to start intercollegiate competition in the Fall 2022.In 2018-2019, 4,383 girls participated on 239 teams and 3,944 boys participated on 233 teams.
The new Swimming and Diving teams would compete in NCAA Division II and Great Lakes Valley Conference competitions. Currently, the GLVC houses 10 men’s and nine women’s swimming and diving teams, and more than 400 student-athletes are expected to participate in the 2022 conference championships. The Screaming Eagles expect to field a roster of 25 men and 25 women. USI Swimming and Diving would compete and practice in the new on-campus Aquatic Center, scheduled to open in Fall 2021, and would participate in an average of 10 meets a season.
