Swimming & Diving Spotlight: Zohar Suslovich
2/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving
The 2015 BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships pres. by New York Life are fast approaching. Last season, the Pirates earned program records of seven individual gold medals and 15 All-Conference honorees, sweeping the diving titles and awards in historic fashion in the process. This year, SHUPirates.com will take you up to the conference meet with a series of features exploring The Hall's continued success.
Today, we look at standout freshman Zohar Suslovich and his unique path to becoming one of the pacesetters in the BIG EAST Conference.
The starting block is often seen as a mere jumping off point; an inconsequential narrow slab that serves as a temporary confinement center.
With the crack of the gun comes the liberation that frees competitors to write their own script in the water, but for Seton Hall freshman Zohar Suslovich, the story lies more in how he arrived on the block in the first place.
A 23-year-old native of Holon, Israel, Suslovich is at the forefront of an incoming class that has helped revitalized the men's swimming & diving program at The Hall. While his journey to becoming a Pirate was far from traditional, his presence has been one of the key drivers of the progress within the squad this season.
Prior to embarking on his collegiate career, Suslovich was enlisted in the Israeli military; completing his three-year stint as an active duty service member as mandated by the nation's law. From those beginnings, his path to a small Catholic university South Orange was one paved by initiative, collaboration and a continued commitment to the sport.
The relationship began in the humblest of ways, an inquisitive e-mail sent from halfway across the world. From there a dialogue began and it soon became clear that what may have appeared as an unlikely marriage to some was, in fact, a perfect match.
"When I was first looking at colleges in the United States, I narrowed my search down to a few areas," explained Suslovich. "One of them was the New York City area because I have family here. When I started talking to the Seton Hall staff, what made me feel like this would be the right fit were our discussions about the BIG EAST and how competitive it is as a conference. They helped me see that I could come in and help the team right away."
"What really stood out to us in Zohar was his versatility," said longtime head coach Ron Farina. "We saw what he had to offer and knew he could come in right away and help us in not only breaststroke and backstroke events but freestyle and the IM as well so that kind of piqued our interest in the early stages."
Once he had landed on SHU as his destination however, several obstacles remained before Suslovich could suit up for the Pirates. Farina and his assistant Derek Sapp were responsible for many of the details but Farina also credits the Seton Hall athletics administration with helping to facilitate the process.
Suslovich is one of over 25 international student-athletes currently representing the Pirates across 14 varsity teams but while his circumstances may have been unique, they were not foreign to those working to ensure he would be able to fulfill his wish to pursue an education and swimming career at The Hall.
In the early stages of 2013-14, Seton Hall men's basketball point guard Tom Maayan made headlines when he was asked to return to his native Israel to fulfill his military obligations.
Suslovich had already done so when he committed to the Pirates and those on staff did not hesitate to give Farina the support he needed to make sure another promising Israeli athlete received the opportunity to compete at the highest collegiate level our nation has to offer.
"It really was a team effort to get him over here," said Farina. "Between myself, Derek, [Assistant Athletics Director / Compliance] Bridgette Cahill and even up to [Vice President and Director of Athletics / Recreational Services] Pat Lyons, we were able to get what we needed to make this possible."
With the initial obstacles cleared, it appeared as if Suslovich was poised to join the program in advance of the 2014-15 campaign with no further impediment. One more potential roadblock manifested however as weeks before he was scheduled to travel to the Garden State and embark on a new chapter, Suslovich was recalled into service in the midst of escalating conflicts.
The assignment turned out not to be a protracted one though and he was released after a week. 14 days later, he stepped foot on campus in South Orange.
The transition to college is a dramatic shift for any freshman but few endure the level of adjustment that was ahead for one of the newest Pirates.
There was of course a period of acclimation to be expected as Suslovich made the switch from soldier to student-athlete in an unfamiliar setting, but the 23-year-old who is so at home in the water cites both his past experiences and his new team as integral forces that helped get his feet under him on land.
"I think I learned a lot about myself and a lot about communicating with others during my service," Suslovich said. "You encounter a lot when you serve in the army for three years and having that background definitely helped me make the transition. I was more mature and prepared than if I had come over when I was 18."
"It was still overwhelming at first," he continued. "I even had some trouble remembering names because I was not used to American names but the team is so close and supportive and they really helped me feel at home in a new place. One of the things that I have found to be different here as opposed to Israel is swimming is more of a team sport. I think aside from the friends and support network that has give me, I feel like I have become a better swimmer because I know we are striving to improve together, as a group."
"The guys on the team really stepped up and welcomed him in given how late he joined the squad," added Farina. "To his credit though, he really hasn't missed a beat. To see him now, you wouldn't know his back story and he's really just one of the guys as well as an important part of what we are trying to accomplish."
It did not take long for Suslovich to make his mark in the water, immediately impressing the coaching staff with his performance at a preseason meet.
"Right from the alumni meet we knew what we had, he came in and was doing times that put him right near the top of the conference," recalled Farina. "That is pretty much where he has stayed all season and I think both him and our team are in a good spot headed into the championship meet."
Suslovich went on to establish himself as one of the premier competitors in the BIG EAST, leading the 9-2 Pirates in individual victories and points during his debut campaign while recording conference-leading marks in the 200-yard backstroke an 100-yard breaststroke.
His season is far from over. With the conference championships less than a week away, Suslovich is positioned to become the sixth men's competitor at Seton Hall to etch his name on the banner that hangs high above the Pirates' home pool inside the Arthur E. Imperatore Natatorium, bearing the name of the program's past individual BIG EAST champions.
When asked what he attributed his success to, Suslovich pointed to the parallels between the commitment it takes to serve in the military and the dedicated regimen of a swimmer.
"Both involve high levels of discipline," he explained. "I think having been a swimmer and knowing the importance of being consistent helped me when I entered the military. Now that I am back to swimming, I think I am benefiting from the fact that the service showed me what hard work is. When I am about to race now, I trust my training and am confident in what I am doing."
He has traveled halfway across the globe and countless yards inside the pool and now the next stop for Seton Hall's Zohar Suslovich is the starting block at the 2015 BIG EAST Championships in Ithaca, N.Y. where he will await his chance to add another chapter to an already remarkable journey.
While it is unquestioned that he possesses the requisite tools to emerge as a champion, his mere arrival on that block is going to be a hard act to follow.
