From the outside looking in, it is hard to gauge how much animosity truly lies between siblings. A sibling rivalry can be cutthroat in any family, but when sports are added to the mix, the competition is taken to a whole new level — or is it?
Virginia swimmers David and Garrett Wren have shared a lot as they have grown up — parents, friends, a home, pickup basketball and football games and now, the same collegiate swim team. While one might assume family tensions could eventually run high, the Wren brothers have helped each other thrive.
In his freshman year at the University, David is a newcomer to the team, whereas Garrett, a junior, has had two and a half years to settle into college life. Garrett, who specializes in freestyle events for the Cavaliers, has noticed his brother making a smooth transition into a collegiate atmosphere.
“It’s been great so far,” Garrett Wren said. “[David] has gotten adjusted very well, he’s swimming well, doing well in school. I get to see him every day, and our parents get to go to the same meets.”
The quick adjustment could be attributed in part to David’s high school experience. Primarily a backstroker and IMer, he qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials in the 100 and the 200 back.
Qualifying for the Olympic Trials was “awesome,” he said. “I had worked for several years with that as my goal and I had missed it several times by just a little bit so I finally got it and it was really exciting. It was definitely one of the best moments in my swimming career.”
An ungracious older brother would not be able to give his sibling the praise he deserved, but Garrett has had no trouble cheering on his little brother.
“Garrett was real proud of me,” David Wren said. “He and I don’t have any animosity towards each other or anything, if one of us succeeds at something and one of us doesn’t. Whenever one of us succeeds in anything we’re always really proud of the other one.”
The Wrens’ coach, Virginia’s Mark Bernardino, can vouch for the brothers’ model relationship on and off the pool deck.
“There’s absolutely no competition between the two of them whatsoever,” Bernardino said. ”They are the idyllic family. They’re proud of one another, they really like one another, they’re close friends ... They’re both a couple of really, really classy men, and they’re both really good leaders to our team members.”
The Wren brothers do not waste time being envious of each other or creating unnecessary competition; they know it is not bad if one provides better results than the other, because a good performance will benefit their team, regardless of whose name appears on the scoreboard.
“We’ve both been very supportive of each other’s accomplishments, and now we’re on the same team so we’re working towards the same goal,” Garrett Wren said. “I think we both are doing our part to work towards that ... it’s all about the team goal.”
The team goal has been important for quite some time to Garrett, David and three other Virginia swimmers. The brothers, as well as sophomores Ian Vogt, Anne Summer Myers and Elizabeth Shaw all attended Mills E. Godwin High School in Richmond, where they were able to develop an early bond and collective passion for the sport.
This passion, however, did not begin in high school. The combination of years of club swimming, summer league and a family legacy led the Wrens to the starting block.
Garrett and David are not the first Wrens to dive headfirst into Virginia swimming. The boys’ uncles, Matt and Andy, began the Wren tradition when they both swam for Bernardino during the 1980s.
Andy Wren found his strength in butterfly events and has honors to show for it; he was named the ACC Swimmer of the Year and a meet MVP, both in 1983.
These days, Matt Wren focuses on the biology of swimming and has used his knowledge of both swimming and physical therapy to create a program that works to prevent swimming-related injury.
Garrett and David have noticed humorous “underlying themes” as they exchange stories with their uncles about Bernardino. But one thing remains consistently clear: Any Wren is more than welcome in Bernardino’s pool.
When Garrett came to the University for his first visit, Bernardino eagerly discussed the previous ties he has had with the Wren family. “We talked about that when I came on my visit,” Garrett Wren said. “[Bernardino] said ‘I know your family well, I know your grandfather, I know your grandmother, I know your parents; I get a great feeling from your family. I would love for you to come be the third Wren.’ That’s what he told me when we had our first sit-down with him.”
The “great feeling” Bernardino referred to continued for at least three additional years, as David was added to the roster for the 2008-09 season.
Other than having different academic interests — Garrett is a chemistry major while David plans to study commerce — “they’re cut from the same cloth,” Bernardino said. “They work hard — they work to the bone ... They’re just absolute gentlemen. You wish they were your own kids, they’re so nice.”
Such personalities combined with strong athletic abilities make Garrett and David Wren a pair that others can only strive to match.
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