ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Mya Webb wasn't sure what to think when she received a knock on the door of her hotel room early in the afternoon of Feb. 14.

Webb, a senior standout for the Roberts Wesleyan University swimming and diving team, decided to answer it anyway.

She's glad that she did as the ultimate Valentine's Day surprise was standing in the hallway.

Webb's husband, Collin, a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps whom she had not seen since Aug. 9, drove more than 550 miles from Camp Lejeune, N.C., to watch her compete in the Metropolitan Conference Championships at Rutgers University.

"It was amazing," Mya said. "I had been waiting to see him for so long. … I was excited and I was just happy to see him and be able to hug him again. It felt almost fake because we're always apart, so it was really magical to see him again."

Collin, a 2022 Roberts graduate, had been serving a Unit Deployment Program to Japan and Korea. He arrived in North Carolina a couple of days prior and worked with former teammates Andon and Avery Fedor to put his plan into motion.

"I'm good friends with them and made sure I knew what room number she was in and what hotel," Collin said. "Luckily, I was able to surprise her for the most part."

Mya has Collin's location on her phone and noticed that he was driving, but she wasn't certain that he was coming to New Jersey and did not want to get her hopes up too high in case he was traveling elsewhere, which he sometimes needs to do, for work.

"Part of me was like, 'Oh, there's going to be something that's going to go wrong, and he's going to have to turn around and go back,' or he's not really coming to go see me," Mya said. "I was nervous the entire day because I was like, 'Well what if he does come see me and I'm not prepared.'

"It felt like a first date, and I felt like I wasn't ready."

When she opened the door and saw Collin's face it was better than she could have imagined. She jumped into his arms and they shared a long embrace.

"It was definitely surreal," Collin said. "I think I was still a little jet-lagged from the time overlap, so I was a little hazy. … I felt nervous before going up there, which was odd after being married for so long, but I was just more excited than anything."

Things just got better from there.

Mya set school records while winning three individual events – the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyles – and was part of the victorious record-setting 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay on her way to being named Swimmer of the Meet as the Redhawks won the women's team competition.

"It was very surreal to get those awards and then have him there to experience it with me," Mya said. "He is the most important person in my life, and this was one of the most important moments of my life for swimming. Having those two things together, it felt like I had finally made it and that all the work that I had done throughout my four years here paid off. … I was very happy, it was a very exciting moment."

Collin was extremely glad to be there in person.

"I was super excited for her," Collin said. "It was pretty awesome seeing all of the work pay off because I'm honestly on the other end of the phone when she's talking about the long hours and the double practices day in day out."

The weekend signaled the end of Mya's 13-year swimming career, a career that includes 14 school records in nine individual events and five relays at Roberts.

She also fondly remembers her first college practice because it is the day she met Collin. The upperclassmen were hanging the new records on the wall in the pool on the same day they were introduced to their new teammates.

Mya, whose maiden name is June, definitely made an impression on Collin, who was entering his senior season as a sprint freestyler.

"She said she was scared of me, and I definitely was like, 'This girl is beautiful,'" he said. "I immediately was like, 'OK, I'm going to keep her on my radar.' I wasn't going to make any moves. I'm very against dating while you're together on the team."

The couple started dating in the spring of 2022 and were married on June 10, 2023 in Virginia. They had a bigger family wedding celebration on July 20, 2024.

Since they have been married, Collin, who has 30 Marines under his command, has been stationed in Virginia, California, North Carolina and Japan. He is scheduled for two months of training in California this spring and plans to be at Roberts in May when Mya graduates with a degree in Criminal Justice. The couple plans to relocate to North Carolina where Mya hopes to find a job as a parole probation officer.

Both Mya and Collin, who has a Bachelor's degree in History, appreciate their time and experiences at Roberts.

 "The one thing that I'll always praise Roberts for was the faculty and staff," Collin said. "The faculty and staff cared more about the people, rather than treating me as like a number, and I think that was a good example for me to emulate as I work with my Marines and adjacent units.

"Having the faith aspect is very helpful in guiding my decisions and navigating me through some of the moral and ethical dilemmas that I may run encounter. Overall, it was an amazing choice for me to come to Roberts."

Mya is equally grateful.

"This program is probably one of the best things that's ever happened to me," she said. "I have a family now from this and I've met amazing people that have helped me grow as a person and as an athlete. Now, I can use all the things that I've learned from this and be able to carry them into my adult life."