Alex Stoyel began swimming at the age of 15, far beyond the age most of his classmates at St. Paul's School in London took to the water. But Stoyel quickly made up for lost time. In his senior year of high school he surpassed most of his team by breaking seven of eight swimming records held by St. Paul's.

Stoyel delayed attending college for two years after his 2002 high-school graduation to focus on improving his swimming. In 2003, he moved from London to Florida to train at the Coral Springs Swim Club under four-time Olympic coach Michael Lohberg. Stoyel's hard work paid off. The twenty-year-old first-year student at Kenyon is now a member of the Lords' championship swim team.

"I knew that if I wanted the best of athletics and academics, Kenyon was the place to be. The reputation of Kenyon's swim team is undeniable. It speaks for itself," says Stoyel of the Lords' twenty-fifth consecutive national championship win in the spring of 2004.

Given his love for travel, Stoyel is happy to be in the United States. He's been able to visit California, Indiana, North Carolina, Texas, and Washington during his stay, but it's Gambier, Ohio, that has become his new home. Although his swimming talents could have led him to a Division I university, Stoyel is happy with his college choice. "Kenyon cares about the individual. If I had chosen to go to a large university, I think I would have been lost in the system," he says.