TOWSON, Md. - Matt Lowe's work ethic can only be described as meticulous. Although the rising junior swimmer at Towson University recently set the Bahamas national record in the 1,500-meter freestyle event with a time of 16:08.19 at the RBC National Swimming Championships, his initial reaction to the feat was one of disappointment.

“I was actually pretty upset I didn't really get to my goal time,” Lowe said.

That inner drive to succeed has propelled Lowe to heights unseen before in Towson school history. Not only is Lowe the school record-holder in the 1,000-yard freestyle event (9:20.22) set earlier this year, his performance at the 2013 RBC Bahamas Nationals earned him a spot at the World Swimming Championships in Barcelona, Spain, beginning on July 19. He is the only male in Towson school history to qualify for the meet.

“I'm pretty happy I got a spot in Worlds," Lowe said. "It was definitely a goal of mine. But I still have a lot of work to do. I want to drop my times and get some experience out of it. I've never been to a meet of this scale, so it's going to be a bit of a shock.”

Shocking is also an accurate way to describe Lowe's development. Lowe knows there are “a lot of other guys that are bigger and more talented,” he said. At 5' 7”, 140 pounds, one wouldn't associate a powerful swimmer with his size.  

But maximizing his potential was something Lowe fully embraced as he arrived at Towson, a destination he chose after feeling comfortable with the team and Head Coach Pat Mead.

Lowe was in for what he termed a “wake-up call” in his training once on campus under Mead, whose rigorous training regimen was tough to take during Lowe's adjustment to college life.

“The first few months I thought about quitting a couple of times,” the junior said. “I didn't really feel like I was improving that much. But then at the end of the year, I started to work hard. This year, I'm working harder than ever. And, I've always enjoyed it. You have to have fun with it or else you won't get anywhere.”

Lowe's success can be traced in part to his ability to minimize pressure and anxiety. And though he's unsure of how exactly he enters his “zone,” perhaps it can be attributed to the hard work reaping its rewards.

“When I first got here, I was pretty average,” Lowe said. “Coach made me a lot better and he tries to make us the best we can be.”

Lowe is hopeful his achievements will inspire other Bahamians to become distance swimmers. Two-time Olympian and three-time NCAA Champion Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace and three-time Olympian Jeremy Knowles are some of the native Bahamian swimmers to shine on the international stage. However, Lowe knows that the Bahamas is known for its excellent sprinters and wants to see other distance swimmers emerge from his country.

“In the Bahamas, distance swimmers are something that we have lacked,” he said. “I hope that more of the Bahamas can get into the distance events and not just the sprints. I just want to represent the Bahamas to the best of my ability.”