If you look through the Youngstown State swimming and diving team's roster, you will see a lot of the typical hometowns around Ohio. You will also see places like Iceland, Hungary, and Australia. That international flavor is making the program stand out both in and out of the pool.

They come from all over the globe, and all of them ended up in Youngstown.

"The education system at the college level in other countries doesn't usually have sports associated with it, so a lot of them want to come here in order to be able to continue competing once they're done with their high school age or club," said head coach Matt Anderson.

Some use agencies for recruiting, some just reach out themselves, but either way it's had a huge impact on the program. Anderson is bringing in athletes who are rewriting the YSU record book.

"I can recruit at MAC or even Big Ten level kid to come in because I can offer them the kind of scholarship money they need, where those schools, they don't have as much of an impact there," said Anderson.

"Before I came here, I could have never dreamed about this," said Viktoria Orosz, a record-breaking swimmer from Budapest, Hungary. "It's an awesome feeling because I can help my team."

It does take a certain personality type to go to school that far away from home. It also takes a mountain of paperwork.

"There's so much other stuff that we have to do as international students," said Bec Stafford, a diver from Brisbane, Australia. "You have to do this and this, make sure you get these forms filled out, make sure you get this signed before we leave for a training trip, all that sort of stuff."

"We have to get a visa and all those transcripts from our school and translate them," said Kolbrun Jonsdottir, a swimmer from Seltjarnarnes, Iceland. "My school was like 'Why? Why do you want to do that?'"

Stafford helped create a display at the natatorium with maps, celebrating where everyone on the team comes from. It's a long journey, but an experience that has made the entire team closer.

"We understand the struggle of not knowing the language, so it's easier for helping internationals out at the beginning," said Lydia Scheringer, a diver from Munich, Germany.

"Learning about their cultures and the different personality types that come from those cultures is really an interesting part of it," said Anderson.

"For after school, too, it gives us so many different connections around the world," said Stafford. "It's really nice to have such a multi-cultural team."

The chance to compete at YSU gives each of them an experience quite different from even some of their teammates, but it is also one they already say was totally worth it.

"I knew it was going to be an experience I'm never going to be forgetting, but I definitely didn't know it was something I would love and that I would consider staying in America after I'm done with college," said Scheringer.

"Obviously it has its ups and downs, but the experiences and the memories that come with it I wouldn't give it up for a lifetime," said Stafford.

International waters right here at home, and much more than your typical college athletes.

Anderson says the internet has really made this all possible, giving potential recruits a way to connect with the program from literally anywhere in the world. So far, it's worked out pretty well for both the athletes and the team.