Hacker Earns Silver at Maccabiah Games

Hayley Hacker, a Pacific Palisades native, Palisades High graduate and senior at UCLA, helped the U.S. earn a silver medal in the 400-yard freestyle relay at the recent Maccabiah Games in Israel. She also finished seventh in the 100-yard backstroke.
Though her team ultimately fell short to Israel, Hacker, whose younger brother Andrew also graduated from PaliHi and is a sophomore distance swimmer at Colgate University, thoroughly enjoyed the unique experience. It was not her first visit to Israel, as she has family there, but it was her first time competing internationally.
“I got to swim against athletes from all over the world, which was very cool,” Hacker said. “I found out about Maccabiah in December, so I had a good amount of time to prepare.”
Though she faces stiff competition at UCLA, Hacker said the quality of swimming in Israel was simply on another level.
“It’s very different in terms of the main competition over there, because Israel brought members of its national team. And there was a bit of a rivalry between Israel and U.S. because we were the top countries.”
In addition to the 100 back and 400 free relay, Hacker also competed in the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, all strokes that she swims at UCLA. She swam those same strokes during her entire time at PaliHi, save for the 50 free, which she added during her senior year to prepare to be “more of a sprinter in college.”
Hacker did not initially get a scholarship to swim in college, but received one once she began swimming at UCLA. Though none of her Bruins teammates joined her in Israel, she was accompanied by one of her former Team Santa Monica companions, Andrea Murez. Hacker said she did not know any of the other Palisadians who competed in the Maccabiah Games, but was proud to be there on behalf of her hometown.
“My coach at UCLA asked me when I got to college what my dream goal was, and this was it, but I didn’t think I’d make it, so this is one of my biggest accomplishments as a swimmer,” Hacker said. “I went there representing the Palisades, UCLA, California, and the U.S., and that’s really something I take a lot of pride in.”
The Maccabiah experience was something different for Hacker, who said that traditional UCLA meets on the road generally have her spending most of her down time eating meals with her team or napping in hotel rooms. Instead, she had a chance to enjoy Israel and soak in the scenery.
Now back in California, Hacker is enjoying a little time out of the pool and staying fresh before returning to UCLA. Her swimming schedule keeps her busy during the school year, as she swims nine times a week, with six days total and three days of double sessions. She also lifts weights twice a week and runs twice a week.
Her success in swimming is impressive given the fact that Hacker, who played basketball and tennis when she was younger, did not pursue swimming seriously until eighth grade. She was part of the now-defunct Palisades YMCA club team, and began her Pali career on the JV team as a freshman before moving up to the varsity team. She joined TSM as a junior.
Hacker, who is majoring in psychology, has career-best times at UCLA of :57.33 in the 100-yard backstroke, :23.73 in the 50-yard freestyle and :53.70 in the 100-yard freestyle.