Former Carroll swimmer succeeding in class and pool at TCU

Most freshman at any college need the majority of their first year to figure out how to effectively study in this new phase of life.

Southlake Carroll alumnus Connor Dobbs excelled in the classroom in his first year at TCU while also posting conference-high marks as a part of the Horned Frog swimming and diving team.

Dobbs was one of four TCU swimmers named to the College Swimming Coaches Association of America Honorable Mention Scholar All-America team Wednesday for his performance not only in the pool, but in the classroom as well.

“It’s a really big honor,” Dobbs said. “It’s definitely something I was working to get. To get that award as a freshman in college is a pretty big deal for me.”

Dobbs capped off a successful freshman year with a career best performance in the 1,650 free at the Big 12 Championship, finishing third with a time of 15:25.13.

Finishing third at the Big 12 Championships automatically made him a First-team All-Big 12 honoree in the event.

The performance also put Dobbs in the TCU record book with the second-best time in the 1,650 freestyle behind Michael Franz’ 15:23.38 in 2012.

Dobbs finished behind Jonathan Roberts and Sam Lewis of the University of Texas, who would go on and win the team national championship.

“To make the All-Big 12 selection first team as a freshman, that’s pretty special too, with the likes of the University of Texas, who was the national champions, in our conference,” TCU head coach Richard Sybesma said. “He’s in some good company there, definitely.”

Dobbs is on a combination of academic and athletic scholarships at TCU and Sybesma said he never has to worry about the freshman’s work ethic in the classroom.

“He knows what he needs to do,” Sybesma said. “He knows how to get it done. He’s a serious, serious student.”

That serious attitude has carried over into the swimming offseason.

Dobbs is back in Southlake for the summer, working out with the North Texas Nadadores NTN, who train at the Carroll ISD Aquatics Center. Naturally, the work aids in his growth at the collegiate level, but he has much higher aspirations than just NCAA success.

Dobbs hopes to participate in the Team USA Olympic trials to try and swim for the red, white and blue in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

“He’s dedicated himself to the point where now where I think he knows there’s bigger and better things to come, especially to make the Olympic trials this summer or next year and go on to Omaha,” Sybesma said.

“You make that, who knows?”

This story was originally published July 6, 2015 at 3:06 PM with the headline "Former Carroll swimmer succeeding in class and pool at TCU."