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Dillon Virva started swimming in his older brother's wake when he was a young boy.
When his brother started swimming on the Penguin Swim Team in Grass Valley seven years ago, so did he. When his brother set school records at Nevada Union in the 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter butterfly, he set records in the 50-meter freestyle and topped his brother's mark in the 100-meter butterfly. And last week, Virva continued down another path his brother blazed when he signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The sandy-blonde-haired senior at Nevada Union said he doesn't mind that he's taking a similar path as his brother, or that he's often compared to him, but insists he swam out of his brother's wake a long time ago.
As a freshman, Virva made the varsity swim team and reached the highest level within the Penguin swim team. Finding that most of his teammates on both squads were his brother's old teammates made him feel like he was still in his brother's shadow, he said.
“There was so much pressure,” Virva said. “Being a lowerclassman on the team and being my brother's brother.”
That pressure was a driving force for him at first, but the pressure got to be too much.
Later in his freshman year, Virva backed away from swimming, not quitting entirely, but focusing more on cross country bicycle riding.
But splitting his time between two sports had him struggling in both, so he decided to drop the riding team and focus all his energy on swimming.
“I needed to step away for a bit,” he said. “But once I came back and hit it hard, I saw dramatic time drops.”
That's when Virva started to make his own wake.
It was his sophomore year when he broke his brother's school record.
“At that point, I felt like I stepped out of my brother's shadow,” Virva said. “It was one of those moments where I felt like I was getting recognition not just for who my brother is. It was like, my brother is a good swimmer, but so am I.”
Virva hasn't slowed since, improving his times and garnering awards and records along the way.
In high school, Virva received top-five awards in 2011 and 2010 from the Sierra Nevada League in short-course yards and long-course meters, he was a competitor at the 2011 Junior National Championships in Palo Alto and reached All-American status in two events, the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly.
With his prep career coming to a close, Virva looks forward to the challenges that swimming at the collegiate level will bring him.
Virva was recruited by several schools, including Hawaii, Arizona State and Indiana but chose UNLV for several reasons.
“One of the main reasons I chose UNLV was that I mixed well with the team members,” he said. “I also got along with the coaches. They seemed to have the same goals as I did. Academically, I felt I had more options at UNLV than the other schools.”
Virva hopes to attain a degree in biology while at UNLV, he said.
Having his older brother at UNLV also played a role in getting Virva to sign with the Runnin' Rebels, he said.
The brothers share a supportive bond glued together by a passion for swimming, but it hasn't always been that way.
The brothers, separated by four and a half years, had a tumultuous relationship growing up.
Kyle Virva is currently in his senior year at UNLV, where he set two school records and has been part of a Runnin' Rebel swim squad that has won the Western Athletic Conference championship three times.
Kyle Virva said that growing up, the two fought all the time.
“I hated him when we lived together,” Kyle Virva said. “We never got along.”
Moving to Nevada City from Beaumont, Texas, when Dillon Virva was 6, the two didn't have much in common until swimming.
Dillon Virva started swimming when he was in sixth grade, and Kyle Virva started his sophomore year at Nevada Union.
As they both excelled in the pool, they found a common ground on which they built a now-solid foundation.
“My brother obviously supports me,” Dillon Virva said. “He's always checking up on me and pushing me to get better.”
Having spent four years with his brother's future team, Kyle Virva now acts as an advisor for his younger brother.
“The biggest difference from the Penguin Swim Team to college is the amount of training,” he said. “It's going to be a rude awakening. But if Dillon trusts his coaches, commits and gets in the mind set of pushing 110 percent every workout, he's going to destroy everyone.”
If Dillon can make the training commitments, he will be a success, said Penguin swim team coach Larry Gruver.
“He's a natural talent,” Gruver said. “He's as good at swimming under water as anybody in high school. And, judging by the way Kyle did and Dillon's talent, if he commits, he will be a success.”
Gruver has been a Penguin coach for 15 years and has coached both Kyle and Dillon Virva.
With a bright future ahead of him, Dillon Virva acknowledges that none of this would be possible without the support of his mother, Diane Virva.
Raising the two pool standouts by herself, Diane Virva said her kids come first.
She has made it to every meet Dillon Virva has competed in and makes most of the big meets that Kyle Virva participates in.
She helps with a lot of the travel arrangements and enjoys watching her sons mature in the pool and in life, she said.
Not to mention, she foots the bill for Dillon Virva's swim career, which gets expensive after the travel, the fees and the suits.
Dillon Virva also credits his teammates and coaches for getting him to where he is today.
“My team became my family,” he said. “When you spend four hours with them in the pool, more time with them at school and most of the time you see them they're half naked, there's definitely a bond that forms there.”
Dillon Virva hopes to use the support from his family and team to propel him into a successful collegiate career, which he said would include competing at the NCAA National Championship meet and graduating with a degree in biology.
“I'm happy with my decision,” Dillon Virva said of his signing with UNLV. “I was nervous before, but when I sat down to sign it, it felt right.”
When his brother started swimming on the Penguin Swim Team in Grass Valley seven years ago, so did he. When his brother set school records at Nevada Union in the 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter butterfly, he set records in the 50-meter freestyle and topped his brother's mark in the 100-meter butterfly. And last week, Virva continued down another path his brother blazed when he signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The sandy-blonde-haired senior at Nevada Union said he doesn't mind that he's taking a similar path as his brother, or that he's often compared to him, but insists he swam out of his brother's wake a long time ago.
As a freshman, Virva made the varsity swim team and reached the highest level within the Penguin swim team. Finding that most of his teammates on both squads were his brother's old teammates made him feel like he was still in his brother's shadow, he said.
“There was so much pressure,” Virva said. “Being a lowerclassman on the team and being my brother's brother.”
That pressure was a driving force for him at first, but the pressure got to be too much.
Later in his freshman year, Virva backed away from swimming, not quitting entirely, but focusing more on cross country bicycle riding.
But splitting his time between two sports had him struggling in both, so he decided to drop the riding team and focus all his energy on swimming.
“I needed to step away for a bit,” he said. “But once I came back and hit it hard, I saw dramatic time drops.”
That's when Virva started to make his own wake.
It was his sophomore year when he broke his brother's school record.
“At that point, I felt like I stepped out of my brother's shadow,” Virva said. “It was one of those moments where I felt like I was getting recognition not just for who my brother is. It was like, my brother is a good swimmer, but so am I.”
Virva hasn't slowed since, improving his times and garnering awards and records along the way.
In high school, Virva received top-five awards in 2011 and 2010 from the Sierra Nevada League in short-course yards and long-course meters, he was a competitor at the 2011 Junior National Championships in Palo Alto and reached All-American status in two events, the 50-meter freestyle and 100-meter butterfly.
With his prep career coming to a close, Virva looks forward to the challenges that swimming at the collegiate level will bring him.
Virva was recruited by several schools, including Hawaii, Arizona State and Indiana but chose UNLV for several reasons.
“One of the main reasons I chose UNLV was that I mixed well with the team members,” he said. “I also got along with the coaches. They seemed to have the same goals as I did. Academically, I felt I had more options at UNLV than the other schools.”
Virva hopes to attain a degree in biology while at UNLV, he said.
Having his older brother at UNLV also played a role in getting Virva to sign with the Runnin' Rebels, he said.
The brothers share a supportive bond glued together by a passion for swimming, but it hasn't always been that way.
The brothers, separated by four and a half years, had a tumultuous relationship growing up.
Kyle Virva is currently in his senior year at UNLV, where he set two school records and has been part of a Runnin' Rebel swim squad that has won the Western Athletic Conference championship three times.
Kyle Virva said that growing up, the two fought all the time.
“I hated him when we lived together,” Kyle Virva said. “We never got along.”
Moving to Nevada City from Beaumont, Texas, when Dillon Virva was 6, the two didn't have much in common until swimming.
Dillon Virva started swimming when he was in sixth grade, and Kyle Virva started his sophomore year at Nevada Union.
As they both excelled in the pool, they found a common ground on which they built a now-solid foundation.
“My brother obviously supports me,” Dillon Virva said. “He's always checking up on me and pushing me to get better.”
Having spent four years with his brother's future team, Kyle Virva now acts as an advisor for his younger brother.
“The biggest difference from the Penguin Swim Team to college is the amount of training,” he said. “It's going to be a rude awakening. But if Dillon trusts his coaches, commits and gets in the mind set of pushing 110 percent every workout, he's going to destroy everyone.”
If Dillon can make the training commitments, he will be a success, said Penguin swim team coach Larry Gruver.
“He's a natural talent,” Gruver said. “He's as good at swimming under water as anybody in high school. And, judging by the way Kyle did and Dillon's talent, if he commits, he will be a success.”
Gruver has been a Penguin coach for 15 years and has coached both Kyle and Dillon Virva.
With a bright future ahead of him, Dillon Virva acknowledges that none of this would be possible without the support of his mother, Diane Virva.
Raising the two pool standouts by herself, Diane Virva said her kids come first.
She has made it to every meet Dillon Virva has competed in and makes most of the big meets that Kyle Virva participates in.
She helps with a lot of the travel arrangements and enjoys watching her sons mature in the pool and in life, she said.
Not to mention, she foots the bill for Dillon Virva's swim career, which gets expensive after the travel, the fees and the suits.
Dillon Virva also credits his teammates and coaches for getting him to where he is today.
“My team became my family,” he said. “When you spend four hours with them in the pool, more time with them at school and most of the time you see them they're half naked, there's definitely a bond that forms there.”
Dillon Virva hopes to use the support from his family and team to propel him into a successful collegiate career, which he said would include competing at the NCAA National Championship meet and graduating with a degree in biology.
“I'm happy with my decision,” Dillon Virva said of his signing with UNLV. “I was nervous before, but when I sat down to sign it, it felt right.”
To contact Sports Writer Walter Ford, e-mail wford@theunion.com or call the Sports department at (530) 477-4232.
