Swimmer Anna Vygoder is the Quintessential Student-Athlete

This fall Anna Vygoder, arguably the greatest swimmer in Rhode Island College history, will complete her final year on the team.

The 22-year-old who earned her bachelor’s degree in justice studies this year and is currently pursuing a master’s in the same field, says she couldn’t have anticipated being a champion swimmer while growing up in Russia.

“I didn’t see many pools,” she recalls. “My dad had a passion for swimming but didn’t do it competitively. When we moved to the states, he would show me techniques. Coaches from the YMCA in Lincoln saw me swim and encouraged me to sign up for lessons. That’s when I fell in love with the sport.”

Vygoder’s passion has yielded many awards. She was named the Little East Conference Swimmer of the Year as she swept the 50-, 100- and 200-yard breaststroke to earn First-Team All-Little East honors at the conference championship. For two consecutive years she has been named the Anchorwomen’s most valuable swimmer and received Little East All-Academic honors three times.

Vygoder says she excels in swimming because once she hits the pool “nothing else matters. It’s just me and the pool. I zone everything else out.”

As a student at Lincoln High School, she was intensely competitive and would often train too hard. That changed once she got to RIC and met swim coach Barry Fontaine ’82.

“Coach Fontaine showed me a different side of swimming,” she says. “He would talk to me about other aspects of life to take my mind off the pressures of competitive swimming.”

“I could use many adjectives to describe Anna,” Fontaine says, “but the best one is dependable. She’s dependable in the pool, during practice or a meet; dependable in the classroom, with a perfect 4.0 for four straight years; and dependable as a team leader who helps out when teammates need her most. She is a fierce competitor with a warm heart and undoubtedly one of RIC’s all-time best student-athletes.”

During her senior year, Vygoder received the Helen Murphy Award, which honors an outstanding female student athlete not only for athletic prowess but also for community and campus involvement.

Aside from swimming, this high achiever is devoted to the military.

“After moving here from Russia. I wanted to give back to a country that welcomed me,” she says. “I enlisted in the Rhode Island Army National Guard in 2021 and served until 2023. I was also a member of ROTC.”

After obtaining her master’s degree, Vygoder will be a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. She would like to specialize in military intelligence or field artillery.

Looking back, Vygoder says, the minute she stepped onto campus she knew that enrolling at RIC was a good decision.

“I love the smaller class sizes and the more personable relationships I was able to develop with professors,” she says. “I grew and became a better version of myself. RIC feels like home because of all the memories and close connections. I will always think of this college as an anchor point and a really strong support system for me.”