Gray Umbach took his first plunge at age 4. Tired of watching him scamper around the pool deck while her older daughter Brynn practiced, Lisa Umbach was desperate.
“He just wouldn’t stay away from the water,” she said. “He had no fear.”
A coach offered a suggestion.
“Why don’t you just throw him in and let him burn off some energy?” she said.
A former competitive swimmer and two-time qualifier for the Junior Nationals in the 100-yard butterfly, Lisa was skeptical. But as has become the norm for Umbach, he proved a quick study.
“I thought he was going to drown the first couple of practices,” said Lisa. “After that, he was on his way.”
This is a story about talent, adversity, resilience, brilliance, accountability, humility and family values. All encapsulate Gray Umbach, an extraordinary Stanford senior.
Ted Knapp, the Goldman Family Director of Men’s Swimming, said Umbach belongs in the top two percent of all college student-athletes in the country. His 3.99 cumulative grade point average in chemical engineering, two-time All-American medals, and 14 top three finishes in the Pac-12 Championship meets support Knapp’s statement.
One of only four Stanford student-athletes pursuing the major, Umbach was recently selected the Pac-12 Conference Men’s Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He has been accepted to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas next fall and wants to become a pediatrician.
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“Gray has had an incredible swimming career,” said Knapp. “His early success almost kept him from being a top recruit. In our sport, it can often be the case that young superstars don’t pan out at the collegiate level. He’s produced lifetime-best times in his three primary events: 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly and 200 IM, and has done a great job of maintaining his passion.”
Now in his 32nd year with the program, Knapp believes only one other swimmer has majored in chemical engineering.
“It’s a tough road and there’s not a lot of flexibility in it,” he said.
Umbach set national age-group records (13-14) in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley. As a freshman at College Park High in The Woodlands, Texas, he broke Michael Phelps’ national mark in the 200 IM with a time of 1:51.92. Umbach won four state titles and established Texas 5A records in the 200 IM and 100 butterfly.
“Low hanging fruit,” said Umbach in true to character form of besting Phelps.
Knapp quickly realized Umbach was unique.
Regardless how it might seem, Umbach’s life hasn’t been carefree with constant trips to the medal stand. He was born with a hole in his heart called a ventricular septal defect. The gap occurs in the wall that separates the lower chambers and allows blood to flow from the left side of the heart to the right. It is potentially life-threatening and he underwent open heart surgery at 18 months.
The operation was performed by a specialized pediatric cardiac surgeon.
“When they got in there, it was a lot bigger than they had been able to determine,” Lisa said. “He couldn’t have survived without it.”
Umbach has no memory. His only reminder was when friends asked about the scar on his chest.
The summer before his senior year at The Woodlands, where future Stanford diving standout Kassidy Cook was a year behind, Umbach developed a staph infection from a small abrasion. Quick, aggressive treatment saved the day.
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“I would be dead twice without modern medicine,” said Umbach.
In the pool, Umbach hit the wall. Training harder than ever, he went 2½ years without lowering his times and frustration grew.
“When I was 16, I was going the same times I had done when I was 12,” he said. “That was tough. You put in a lot of hours and your season comes down to a couple swims that last a minute. A matter of seconds change a good season to a bad season.”
Umbach leaned on his father Steven, mother and sister Brynn for support. They have always been close and text daily.
“Growing up, we emphasized the importance of perspective and keeping your eye on what’s important,” said Steven. “We told him, ‘You’re still in the top 10 in the country in your age group.’ Frankly, what we had always hoped was that swimming would allow him to get into a good college. Beyond that was all gravy.”
Umbach was nationally recruited but was drawn to Stanford by its unbeatable combination of world class academics and athletics. He also liked the environment and the team.
“I had high expectations coming in,” Umbach said. “You hear the name Stanford and see what they do in sports and produce in industry and academia. It’s impressive and easy to expect a lot from a school with that track record. Now, almost being on the other side, it’s definitely lived up to that.”
Typically, Umbach’s chemical engineering classes include about 30 students. Most are offered at limited times and often conflict with training and practice. With the blessing of Knapp and his teammates, Umbach has skipped many workouts.
“They do a really good job of taking care of their own and making sure you can explore the things you want to explore,” said Umbach of his coaches, professors and academic advisors. “It’s a gold mine. I haven’t felt limited athletically or academically.”
Umbach and Sean Duggan were recruited in the same class and have been roommates for four years.
“Until you really see his work ethic and how humble he is about it, you don’t realize how great a guy he is,” said Duggan. “Those two things that separate him. Sure, he’s got God-given talent in the pool and in the classroom, but his work ethic is second to none.”
Umbach is unflappable and ultra-focused. As a freshman, teammates nicknamed him “Stone Cold” and it stuck.
“He seldom shows emotion and is cool, calm and collected behind the blocks,” said Duggan, a team captain. “It takes a lot to get a reaction out of him on the pool deck.”
Umbach leads by example.
“He works so hard and doesn’t ever beat his chest about anything,” Knapp said. “He’s just so even keeled.”
Added Duggan, “He’s far and away the most respected guy on our team.”
Also the most mysterious.
“He keeps things to himself,” said Duggan. “We always wonder what the heck he is doing. Nobody has a class with him. That leads to the most interesting man in the world thing.”
Teammates frequently ask Umbach questions about homework and general topics.
“Of course, he’s never been taught this stuff,” Duggan said.
Umbach insisted he isn’t the answer man.
“The freshman will ask how to load their schedules in the fall,” he said. “But they are way wiser than I was. The seniors are doing things I don’t understand. They’re way beyond me in their respective fields, but it’s fun to get together and talk about it.”
Last quarter in Chem E 185 B, Umbach’s group worked on biodiesel production from microbes and used E.coli to produce fatty acids. This quarter, they are testing compositions of fatty ethyl esters to determine if they have different toxicity effects on the hosts.
“It has a bit of stigma,” he said of his major. “But for me, it’s not particularly hard because it’s what I’m really interested in. Honestly, I think I would do a lot better in chemical engineering than in history, a major I don’t have as much proclivity for. I think the difficulty depends where your talents lie academically.”
Umbach said the best part about chemical engineering is that his senior lab classes are more student driven, giving them more freedom to design protocols and discover what does and doesn’t work.
“It helps you take ownership,” said Umbach.
He lives in Yost, a large residential house on the west side of campus.
“Our routine is to have dinner together every night or with a bigger group,” said Duggan, a mechanical engineering major. “Sometimes we head to a lab. Otherwise, it’s just sit down and do what you have to do. More often than not, I’m worried that I’m bothering him because he’s that zoned in.”
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Umbach and his sister, two years older, have a tight bond.
“I always heard about the competition between siblings and how she was going to be so jealous and would have to share attention,” said Lisa. “There was never any of that. She loved having a little brother. He followed her around like a puppy dog.”
An all-round athlete and cheerleader in high school, the 24-year-old Brynn laughed at the thought.
“I was always high-energy and wanted to play with someone,” Brynn said. “It was the greatest thing. We were both really competitive.”
One of her favorite childhood memories was visits to a local bagel shop.
“We’d get four breakfast sandwiches,” she said, “and they always looked at me so confused, like, ‘Who is this for?’ Gray would eat three of them.”
Umbach attended Brynn’s 2014 graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy, where she majored in chemistry. Brynn will reciprocate at Stanford in June. Needless to say, the attire and “Wacky Walk” will be different.
“We had no crazy outfits, that’s for sure,” Brynn said.
After graduation, Brynn was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Navy and was deployed in the Asia region for seven months. She’s married and now stationed on the USS Samson destroyer in San Diego, but is scheduled for another seven-month deployment in June.
“She does so much,” Umbach said. “All her job titles are pretty complicated and I can hardly keep up. She leads about 20 people. I love to brag about my sister.”
The feeling is mutual.
“He’s definitely an intellectual and a deep thinker,” said Brynn. “One of the most humble people ever.”
Steven was born in New Jersey and moved to Menlo Park at age 10 when his parents divorced. He went to high school in New Jersey and spent summers locally, living with his father and step mother. Coincidentally, Lisa lived next door with her father and step mother.
“That’s how we met,” he said. “We started taking dating and taking bike rides on the Stanford campus in the 80s. If someone would have said, ‘Here’s a crystal ball, you’re going to have a son and he’ll go to school here someday.’ It’s so crazy to have him back there.”
Steven graduated from the Long Island School of Design and owns an industrial design business. Lisa graduated from UCLA and taught high school math for eight years. She now works as a tutor and helps with his business.
Steven was also active in sports, competing in soccer, gymnastics and speed skating.
“From the very beginning with our kids, Lisa and I established what we call the Umbach Family Values,” said Steven. “We had this written down and shared it with them as soon as they were able to read and write. Values focused on responsibility and respect. We have a little mantra, ‘Homework and chores before play. Be courteous.”
All have helped Umbach handle success and challenges.
“I wouldn’t trade that plateau for anything because it showed me where my priorities were,” he said. “I was absorbed in swimming and it was bleeding into my life in other ways. I really needed a period of poor performance to refocus.”
His priorities are faith, family and swimming.
“Of course, it’s fun to swim fast,” said Umbach. “But a lot of learning has come through the hard times. It’s been far from a bumpless career.”
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Umbach isn’t sure if his health challenges have pushed him toward medicine.
“It kind of makes for a nice story arc,” he said. “I see the value in lot of different professions, not just medicine. That just happens to be what I’m interested in and where I can make a great impact. I would certainly like to help others in the way that I’ve been helped.”
Umbach isn’t surprised by the success of Stanford swimming this season. He was part of a decorated recruiting class and credits Knapp for adjusting the off-season workout program and his teammates for their unselfish attitudes and relentless quest to be the best.
“During my four years here, I’ve seen a lot of positive changes in the way we’ve trained,” he said. “My freshman and sophomore year, we were training at 6 a.m., four mornings a week. With the rare exception, someone was sick every week during fall quarter. Not just the sniffles, you’re out for a week.
“Now, we’re there three mornings a week at 6:30 a.m. and we’re able to have more energy in the morning and afternoon practice. We’re getting more out of our time and our health has been better.”
Even the weightlifting program has been refined.
“We’re not a sport that needs to max out bench pressing 350 pounds,” said Umbach. “Just hard, aerobic work. People are getting stronger and fitter, and what we have been doing in the pool has been consistently great.”
Every swimmer and diver has a role. At the Pac-12 Championships, Umbach finished second in 200 IM, helped the 800 free relay team place third, touched fifth in the 200 fly and sixth in the 100 fly. All told, Cardinal swimmers posted top 3’s in 12 of 18 events, winning three, while the divers recorded top 3 finishes in each of the three events.
“That’s the culture of the team,” Umbach said. “If you ask anyone to swim any event, they’re going to say, ‘Okay, I’ll do the best I can.’ We have great leaders and everyone is accountable. It can be a pretty strong force.”
Stanford takes momentum into the NCAA Championships, Wednesday through Saturday in Atlanta, seeking its ninth national title and first since 1998. Umbach will swim the 200 IM, 200 free and 200 fly in what will likely be the last meet of his remarkable career.
“That’s the plan,” he said. “I don’t think it will sink in until I finish my last race. I’m the kind of person who can’t really imagine something until it’s there. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
In and out of the pool.
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