By JEFF FEBUS

Elise Bajwa is the first one to admit she would not be a student at Calvin University if not for her older brother David.

The Bajwa's had a connection to Calvin through their grandmother who is a Calvin graduate. As a junior in high school at The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland, David Bajwa took a visit to Calvin and was hooked. "Calvin checked a lot of boxes right away," he said. "I had relatives close by. It had a strong engineering program and a strong swim program. I came for a campus visit and liked Coach (Dan) Gelderloos and that pretty much sealed my decision."

RECRUITING A SIBLING

His younger sister remained in Bethesda, Maryland, competing in both field hockey and swimming among other sports while attending The Brookewood School, an all-girls school in nearby Kensington. Her swim times began to drop considerably as a senior in high school and collegiate swimming began to come into focus. Calvin was not initially on her radar, but her older brother refused to let her get away.
"Calvin wasn't on my initial list because it didn't have the academic program I was initially interested in, but my brother kept calling me every day for nearly two months telling me I needed to come to Calvin," said Elise. "Then he started having people on the Calvin swim team call me or text me. People were contacting me every day, many that I had never met before."

David simply grins when recalling the memory. "I just knew she would be a great fit at Calvin and the swim program, and the community would be great for her as well," he said.

Elise ultimately elected to join David at Calvin and has not looked back since.

THE JOURNEY TO SWIMMING/FAMILY TIES
 

Their respective journeys into the sport of swimming have been unique. Both were involved in summer swim league and swim lessons group up in Maryland. The family spent five years overseas in Austria due to their father's work career as an engineer where both David and Elise entered the world of club swimming. While in Austria, David also got involved in open water club swimming which included competitions in the famous Danube River as well as inland lakes in the Austrian countryside. He frequently swam in races that were five kilometers in distance. He also tried "fin swimming" for a little while, which undoubtedly contributed to his amazing underwaters. He also had the opportunity to train with Austria Olympic breaststroke swimmer Hunor Mate who helped fine tune his breast stroke swimming skills at the time. Elise began to play field hockey in Austria, in addition to swimming. Upon their return to the United States, David continued to focus solely on swimming while Elise's focus was field hockey. Primarily a "pool swimmer," David did continue to compete occasionally in open water races his longest being a 10km race in Vermont that took him around an island into Canadian waters and then back to the United States.  

"I played field hockey for 10 years," said Elise. "At one point I thought I wanted to play that sport at the collegiate level."

She came by the sport honestly as her grandfather, Satwant "Sati" Singh Bajwa, played field hockey at the university and later international level. Her father, Chris Bajwa, both played at the 1989 and 1991 US Olympic Festivals and for the US Junior National Team. He later started a men's club program at Stevens Institute of Technology. Her aunt, Rania Bajwa, also played the sport at the Division I level for the University of Pennsylvania.

"Elise took up hockey when we were in Austria (between 2012 and 2017) where they have a very well-developed club hockey system," said her father Chris. "I helped her learn the basics of the sport, but she mostly learned from her coaches in Austria.  She played both outdoor and indoor hockey there.  When we returned to the US she played for hockey clubs, playing club with "Next Level" and Brookewood's team all four years of high school."

Swimming came into a greater focus during her senior year of high school as she competed for a Brookewood team coached by her mother, Betsy Bajwa. "My times started dropping my senior year," said Elise. "I went from a 1:11 to a 1:05 in the 100 breaststroke and that's when my brother started calling me from Calvin and telling me that I could do well at the college level."

POWER IN THE POOL
 

Meanwhile, David had a solid start to his Calvin career, scoring points at the conference championships as a freshman and then winning a league title in the 400 IM as a sophomore to earn a spot on the 2023 All-MIAA team. As a junior, he took off like a rocket ship, winning three MIAA individual titles (50 freestyle, 100 and 200 backstroke) while earning an MIAA record in the 200 backstroke, MIAA MVP honors and another spot on the All-MIAA team. He later earned All-America honors in seven events (four relays, three individual) at the 2024 NCAA III Championships, helping Calvin finish seventh in the final team standings. David was the first Calvin men's swimmer to finish in the top eight in three events at the NCAA III Championships. He continued his success as a senior, leading Calvin to its third straight MIAA team championship while claiming league titles in the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle while swimming on four MIAA championship relay teams. He set a Calvin and MIAA  records in the 100 freestyle (43.56) and an MIAA record in the 100 butterfly (46.76). He was named to the All-MIAA team for the third straight year and was named the MIAA's MVP for the second straight season.

"David is a deep thinker who likes to figure things out and get the right answer.," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "He takes that analytical way of thinking into his training and that has helped him progress as a swimmer. His teammates look up to him. He is not always the most vocal, but everyone sees what he is doing, they see his success and they follow his lead."

Elise put together a strong freshman campaign in 2024, finishing fourth in the 100 breaststroke and sixth in the 200 breaststroke at the 2024 MIAA Championships. She later qualified for the 2024 NCAA III Championships as a member of Calvin's 200 and 400 medley relay teams and earned All-America accolades in both races. Offseason hip surgery slowed the start to her sophomore campaign, but she returned to the pool in November to crank out strong swims in the breaststroke and relay events. In February, she posted a career-best time of 1:03.77 in the breaststroke at the MIAA Championships and later earned a spot on the All-MIAA team.

"Elise is different than David in that she is an extrovert. She is way more social and active and is a leader in her own way," said Gelderloos. "She hasn't always been fully healthy which can be frustrating for some, but she has kept a strong focus. She has been one of our most consistent performers when it comes to meets and high-quality swims."

MARCH SWIM MADNESS

The siblings were able to join each other for one last time this March as they both qualified for the 2025 NCAA III Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. Both siblings came through in a big way for the Knights.

Elise earned All-America honors twice as she swam on Calvins' 10^th place 400 medley relay team and its seventh place 200 medley relay team. She also recorded a career-best time of 1:03.65 in the 100 breaststroke, competing in the event prelims. Her swims helped the Calvin women finish 12^th in the final team standings.

On the men's side, David nearly captured a pair of individual national titles, taking second in the 100 butterfly (46.54) and 100 freestyle (43.25/school record) while placing fourth in the 50 freestyle (19.75). He also swam on Calvin's All-America 200 freestyle (third place) and 400 freestyle (third place) relay teams. His efforts helped Calvin finish 11^th in the final team standings. He concluded his Calvin career as a 12-time All-American.

"It was great to see both of them perform so well," said Gelderloos. "For Elise, it made her comeback from surgery last summer even more rewarding. David was fantastic at the national meet. Without a doubt he is one of the most improved swimmers I have ever coached."

LOOKING BACK/LOOKING AHEAD
 

David is a civil engineering major. His senior design project is centered around an indoor air quality system that is designed to remove by-products in pools and aquatic centers. His goal after graduation is to work in water treatment or project management. Elise holds a double-major of philosophy and criminology with minors in German and social work. Her goal is to work as a police officer after graduation.

They also value the last two years they have had together as members of the Calvin swim program. "Watching him (David) be a leader with the men's team has been impressive and given me a whole new level of respect for him that I didn't have before," says Elise. "It's also given me more insights on who he is as a person. He's one of the hardest workers on the team. He steps up and helps others who need it. He's an all-around good person."

David sends the praise right back to his sister. "She's one of the most dedicated people I know," said David. "She has worked very hard to get where she is at. It's been inspiring to see her improve while coming back from an injury."  

They offer words of appreciation to their parents. "Our mother was frequently the one getting us to 5 a.m. swim practices in high school and was always making sure we had nutritious meals," said Elise. "She's extremely organized and helped keep our schedules on point. Our dad was always encouraging and made it to as many competitions as he could. Both had become swim officials which has been another fun way for them to stay involved in our sport."

"Both of our parents have provided support all through our careers in athletics," said David. "Interestingly neither were swimmers growing up. They were involved in other sports, but they've encouraged us to follow our own pursuits and cheered for us every step of the way. For that, we are extremely grateful."