Ten years ago, Andrew Zimmerman first stepped onto the pool deck at the Chatham County Aquatic Center, enrolling in the StarFish Swim Lessons Program. Encouraged by his instructor, Andrew soon joined the StarFish Swim Team, where his passion for swimming began to grow.
In 2017, he joined the Low Country Aquatic Club’s (LCAC) year-round team under Head Coach Dennis Lugemwa and has been with LCAC ever since. Earlier this month, Andrew took the next step in his swimming journey as he signed with Carson-Newman University in Tennessee for a walk-on spot on the Men's Swimming and Diving Team for the Fall of 2026.
“I was absolutely thrilled when (Carson-Newman) offered me a spot on the team as a walk-on,” Zimmerman said. “And getting to do my celebratory signing with all of my coaches, teammates, friends, and family around me, who had been such a huge support throughout my swimming journey, was such a special moment.”
While Andrew now looks ahead to continuing his swimming career as a Carson-Newman Eagle, that future once seemed unlikely after he was diagnosed in 2023 with Pectus Excavatum, a condition where the breastbone sinks into the chest and compresses the heart.
Andrew underwent a painful surgery to place two curved titanium bars behind his sunken chest wall, which were then flipped outward to push the chest wall back into place. The road to recovery was a long one and caused a tremendous setback in his swimming progress.
Months later, Andrew returned to the CCAC and started walking in the pool. Gradually, he was able to kick his legs while using a kickboard, and two months later, he began swimming again, slowly. Andrew worked to rebuild his speed and endurance through physical therapy and lots of stretching, eventually returning to competitive swimming.
In November 2024, just over a year after his surgery, Andrew competed at a meet in Charleston, S.C., where he achieved a Senior State Qualifying time, something he had never accomplished before.
“I looked for just one way to improve myself each day, a small goal I could reach. This could have been walking a bit further, strengthening my lungs a little better, or even raising my arms a little higher than the day before,” Zimmerman said. “These small, daily victories, along with my faith and dependence on God, helped me stay motivated and continue my recovery as best I could. I also had tremendous support from my amazing family and friends, my LCAC family of coaches and teammates, my Isle of Hope Sharks family, and the greater Savannah swim community, who always pushed and encouraged me to keep going.”
Andrew is excitedly looking ahead to continuing his swimming career as a Carson-Newman Eagle and plans to major in Exercise Science with an emphasis in Coaching and Fitness. He aims to use his love and passion for swimming, as well as what he learned through facing and overcoming adversity during his surgery and recovery, to coach and encourage future young swimmers on their journeys.
Looking back over the last decade, Zimmerman credits his coaches, but also CCAC employees, including lifeguard Tim Barber-Lindstrom and front desk staff Katie Buckley, who helped keep him motivated to continue doing what he loves.
“I am very thankful to have had access to a facility like the CCAC, the staff, and my LCAC coaches that enabled me to learn to swim as well as providing the space for me to develop the great love and passion for swimming that I now have and can take with me into my future,” he said. “Go Eagles! Talons Up!”
