Preparing for her first big race at regionals when she was 9, Natalie Ungaretti was consumed with nerves. So many nerves, they came out onto her coach. As vom0it.

“It was the shortest event…so there was no reason for me to be nervous,” said Ungaretti.

She is now a sophomore and has almost 10 years under her belt in this sport. She started swimming when she was 6 years old, but became competitively active with Team Millennium when she was 8.

Nerves used to be a constant for Ungaretti, but over the past few years she has gotten them under control. Ungaretti copes with nerves by not thinking about the result, but the effort she puts into her craft.  “Swimming has taught me that it is really the effort that counts,” she said.

Her older brother, JP Ungaretti, believes he is one of the reasons for her positive attitude. He also swims for OPRF and is a senior. “I think that Natalie looks up to my attitude towards swimming, that being to enjoy it and not sulk too much in failures.”

Her effort and mindset has led to results. One of her most humble victories was receiving the Chicago Tribune’s High School Athlete of the month because of her achievements for OPRF’s swim team. She received this honor as a freshman last year. “It was great to see the whole school come together and vote for me… It was really great to win for the school.”

Ungaretti also competes with her older brother, JP. He said “We race each other and I’ve always been amazed by how strong Natalie is mentally, even in the face of intense pressure.”

Ungaretti made an immediate impact during OPRF tryouts freshman year. Varsity coach Clyde Lundgren remembers the moment. “Natalie broke OPRF’s pool record on the first day of tryouts her freshman year.”

Lundgren said he enjoys coaching Ungaretti, and believe she is one of the best ever. “Coaching Natalie is like being handed keys to a Ferrari. She’s the fastest female swimmer OPRF has ever seen.”

During her high school season, she has three two-a-days a week as well as three other practices and a swim meet almost every weekend. This is just from August through November. She also goes through club season and summer season that still have practices almost every day.
Ungaretti said she believes club season is different from OPRF season. Although the practice schedule is still fairly similar, they have different attitudes. Ungaretti explained it is a bit less competitive for her. She said she really enjoys it because “during high school season all your friends are there and the coaches are awesome too.”

Lundgren said he believes Ungaretti helps set the team’s attitude. “She keeps her teammates loose. She’s the rare kind of athlete that performs at a high level and has fun doing it,” said Lundgren. He then added,  “Natalie will undoubtedly have a promising swimming career at OPRF and beyond.”