JERSEY CITY, N.J. (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | For many in the New Jersey City University community, the swimming pool at the John J. Moore Athletics and Fitness Center remains one of its most popular features. It is used daily for workouts by students, faculty and staff, by the city's Senior Power Fitness Indoor Exercise Program and for swim classes. The JMAC pool even was the site of an NBC commercial for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
 
The University's most recent pool partnership is with the Hudson County division of Scarlet Aquatics—the New Jersey arm of USA Swimming. Scarlet Aquatics, based out of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, has satellite teams in Bergen, Essex/Morris and Hudson, the latter also known as the BMS division. In all, the four divisions in New Jersey make Scarlet Aquatics one of the largest competitive teams in the country.
 
The BMS division previously trained at the Lincoln Community School in Bayonne before reaching out to NJCU Aquatics Coordinator Tom Lee and the NJCU administration to relocate its program to NJCU. Scarlet Aquatics, led by head coach Mohamed Abdelaal, officially made the move to NJCU in Fall 2016 and NJCU is beginning its second season of affiliation with the program.

NJCU assistant athletics director Danielle Beam oversees Community Recreation at NJCU and helped bring the program to NJCU.

"The partnership between ComRec and Scarlet Aquatics has been extremely positive. Having the swimmers here as a part of the ComRec family has created an additional unique layer to our ties with the community. Having this amazing swim program call our facility home is a privilege. More so than that, the swimmers have a first-hand look at our institution and the support we are able to provide. This will hopefully allow some of those student to consider us when applying for colleges in the near future. It is our hope that through these programs we are able to positively imprint on these potential students and foster a long term relationship with them through their college experience."

Scarlet Aquatics BMS utilizes the JMAC's 25-yard pool for up to 15 hours per week and now holds its main workouts at NJCU, with occasional use of Pershing Field Pool in Jersey City. The calisthenics and strength training is also done on the pool deck.
 
"The staff [at NJCU] is extremely professional in terms of scheduling and coverage," Abdelaal complimented. "A lot of times we're training during off hours or really early on the weekends. We've never come to the facility and had an issue with the proper supervisors or lifeguards. Everything is always ready to go. We use a lot of facilities and even at Rutgers University you get there and the building isn't open. There's a really high level of professionalism here."
 
"The facility is really well maintained," continued Abdelaal. "Tom Lee does a great job with cleanliness, making sure our swimmers and other patrons are following the rules. The water temperature is good. Some facilities keep their temperature really high or really low. It's a nice pool. There are wide lanes so you can get good training in."
 
Training in those wide lanes are Scarlet Aquatics BMS' swimmers, primarily age 6-18, although some of its club members are in college or recent college graduates. A large team, 110 swimmers regularly are using the JMAC facility.
 
One distinguished example of a local athlete in the Scarlet Aquatics BMS program that has flourished is Danielle Prekop, a 16-year-old incoming junior at Saint Dominic Academy in Jersey City, who recently won two silver medals at the Maccabiah Games and previously medaled at the Junior Olympics.
 
Prekop began swimming at age seven. After participating in soccer and dance, she stood out when she tried swimming, knowing at a young age she felt good in the water.
 
Nearly 10 years later, she now trains 20 hours per week during the school year. Her workout routine, largely based out of NJCU, includes two morning workouts, five afternoons and two weekend workouts. Essentially, she is putting in an extraordinary 8-9 workouts per week, in addition to school. As Abdelaal noted, to swim at a really high level, the work ethic demonstrated by Prekop is key.
 
"Unless you're some kind of swimming super freak, it's really, really hard to get to levels Danielle is starting to get to without that sort of time commitment."
 
Prekop currently swims distance, freestyle, backstroke and the individual medley (IM). Now at 16, she is part of easily one of the top training groups in the state and perhaps even in the Northeast in a club environment. Every day she trains with two athletes with Olympic experience and another with international experience. Her versatility in the water has made her a rising star for Scarlet Aquatics BMS.
 
"She's very versatile," said Abdelaal, who has coached her since age 13. "A sectional-level athlete is one that can compete against other top swimmers in the Northeast—maybe 900 swimmers out of the entire zone of 50,000 swimmers. It's a pretty big deal. She would qualify to swim all four strokes and well as almost all distances for freestyle, as well as the 200 and 400 IM. She's a stable part of a lot of our relays."        
 
"She's a really tough racer. You have a lot of athletes who put a lot of time into training and working really hard and when it comes to performance they either have anxiety about it or they don't welcome the challenge or the pain that comes with some of the racing. One thing that's really great about Danielle is she doesn't have those thoughts in her mind when she's racing. She's always trying to do her best, regardless of how it feels [pain]. That's something that you can't really teach. She's extremely committed. She puts in the time. She's a hard worker. She trains with a really good group of swimmers and because of that when she gets to the Maccabiah Games or attempts to qualify for other major meets, she has a wealth of experience to draw from."
 
Prekop applied and met the time standards to be in the Maccabiah Games, held each year at The Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel. The event is open to Jewish athletes from around the world, as well as to all Israeli athletes regardless of religion. She competed in the Junior Maccabiah Games for athletes 16 and under, winning silver medals in the 400 IM and 800 free relay.
 
"The experience was amazing," Prekop said, smiling. "I had the time of my life. I met so many people from all over the world and got to travel the entire country [of Israel]. I had the chance to visit the Dead Sea and climb Masada."
 
Prekop, like her coach Abdelaal, complimented her new training facility at NJCU. "This pool more than other pools is very clean. It's just a really nice pool. It's nice to work out in."
 
With the Maccabiah Games behind her, Prekop can be found daily at NJCU's facility with her next big goals in the sport of swimming in mind.
 
"By the end of this year I want to make Junior Nationals," noted Prekop. "That's a biggie for me. By my senior year, I want to make the national cut. And the Olympic trials would be nice."
 
With continued hard work, perhaps the next NBC swimming commercial for the 2020 Olympics will feature Prekop herself.
 
GOTHIC KNIGHTS on SOCIAL MEDIA:
For the latest on NJCU athletics, follow the Gothic Knights on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Preferred hashtag is #GothicFamily.