Ursuline Standout Makes a Splash
Forget the competition that Tiffany Futscher finds in her swimming meets at Ursuline or for the Dallas Mustangs club team. Her greatest rivalry might be within her own family.
The Ursuline senior had two sisters who swam in college — Stephanie at TCU and Melanie at Savannah College of Art and Design — and a brother, Eric, who swims at Xavier University in Cincinnati.
So as she grew up watching their accomplishments, the youngest of the bunch wanted to surpass them all.
They push me a little bit. There’s definitely a lot of influence from my siblings to be better than they were.
–Tiffany Futscher
She will join the family legacy of collegiate swimmers after signing a scholarship with Texas A&M this fall.
Futscher and her sisters got started in the sport at the urging of their parents, even though her mother doesn’t know how to swim.
“We were too crazy and too hyper, so my mom thought it would discipline us a little,” Futscher said. “We’re not really sure where the gene came from.”
Still, Futscher began swimming competitively when she was about 6 years old. Now she is the school record holder at Ursuline in six events, two of which she broke in November. Some of those marks were held by her sisters.
Last year, she won the 100-yard backstroke and 100-yard butterfly titles at the TAPPS state meet, and was honored as the meet’s top swimmer. Then she qualified for the Summer Junior National Championships in Irvine, Calif. As a sophomore, she was part of a relay team that broke a TAPPS state record.
“She has a lot of dedication and she’s a hard worker,” said Ursuline head coach Amanda Rieff. “She has grown into being the competitor she always wanted to be. After that, she realized how much talent she has and her strokes have gotten better.”
