Kerry Whitson is a collegiate swimmer now, but at one time she spent plenty of time on the hardwood. Whitson played basketball until she started high school.

Whitson even had a teammate who is now playing for the No. 1 team in women’s college basketball — Duke starting center Alison Bales.

“I was really competitive in basketball,” Whitson said. “We traveled a lot and went to nationals in that.”

By the time high school rolled around though, swimming and basketball were during the same season. Whitson had to make a choice.

“The state swimming there [in Ohio] is really competitive, and our basketball team wasn’t all that competitive,” Whitson said. “So I just went with swimming.”

The competitive spirit that helped make her decision back then is still a driving force for Whitson today. In fact, it’s about the only thing she could think of that basketball and swimming have in common for her.

“I guess the only thing I could think of that would be really similar is just my mind-set of being a fierce competitor, always wanting to win,” Whitson said.

Her approach to the sport is something coach Brooks Teal said is refreshing.

“She’s got a lot of determination and a lot of competitive fire. Some girls in sports, they need to learn that. They’re taught to be nice young ladies, and while they’re good athletes and hard workers, that killer instinct is something that our society doesn’t always instill in young ladies,” Teal said. “And so Kerry’s been a great role model for our team in that way.”

Teal also noted Whitson is one of the few N.C. State women’s swimmers in recent years to earn a top-three finish at ACC Championships — she was third in the 200-yard freestyle last season. But he said her impact hasn’t been limited to that meet.

“There have been dual meets where … she basically just refused to let us lose, just kind of put the team on her back and carried us,” Teal said.

Sophomore Lucy Lindsey echoed Teal’s sentiments, saying Whitson gives the team a great lift.

“She’s one of those people who, when it comes down to the wire, she’ll pull it out for the team,” Lindsey said. “She’ll definitely do what she needs to to get the win.”

Lindsey also said Whitson’s demeanor is all about being successful.

“She has a pretty fiery personality. She gets pretty emotional in practice sometimes,” Lindsey said. “And it’s because she really wants to succeed and she wants to do her best.”

At the same time, Whitson said she can’t believe she’s already a senior.

“When I was a freshman and I saw the seniors, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m never going to make it that far.’ But it comes so fast, and this year has gone by so fast,” Whitson said. “You’ve got to enjoy it while you can.”

And while she’s focused on finishing her career strong, she said she can’t help but start thinking about her future.

“It’s just different this year. I still love swimming. You just kind of get to the point where I’m not a Cullen Jones, where I’m not going to go and swim professionally,” Whitson said. “And I have to start thinking about my professional career.”

But as she faces the mixed emotions of knowing she’ll miss swimming and also trying to prepare for life after she graduates in December, Whitson can look back knowing she made a choice she’s happy with when she chose swimming over basketball.

“I think I chose the right one. I always talk about [how] I really do miss basketball. I love to watch it still, and every now and then when I pick up a basketball, I’m just like, ‘Man, I miss the sport,'” Whitson said. “But you have to love it, and I love swimming.”