Three years can pass in the blink of an eye. One day, you walk into Locust Walk not knowing anyone and not knowing where to go. The next, you’re a senior and you’ve stepped foot on Locust Walk more times than you can count. It’s an ancient story of change that accompanies the college years.

And that’s true for point guard Stina Almqvist.

Three years ago, Almqvist came to Philadelphia. The trip was long: a nearly 12-hour flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Almqvist is originally from Sweden, where she grew up playing basketball for as long as she can remember.

His family and life have always been intertwined with basketball. His father Fredrik has been a coach for the last 40 years in his small hometown of Kinna. Fredrik ran a local club, while Almqvist’s mother Marie was also a member of the board of directors. His older sister, Jonna, played basketball. Almqvist’s path was therefore clear.

“You either sit there and watch or you go on the court and play,” Almqvist said.

And then Almqvist laced up his shoes. Discussions about basketball revolved around their dining room table and NBA games played on the television. While her father hasn’t coached her since high school, Fredrik is still a big presence in her game, watching every Penn game and reporting back to her. Almqvist returns the favor and watches all the games his father coaches.

“He’s the reason I play basketball and the reason I do what I do every day,” Almqvist said.

Under his father’s tutelage, Almqvist began to flourish. She played in a professional league for two years and was invited to play for all Swedish youth teams, from U15 to U20. While he was part of those teams, he collected medals of all colors: bronze, silver and gold.

Almqvist brought that experience to the United States. Now dressed in the red and blue instead of the yellow and blue, she became a rotational player early on, proving a consistent presence off the bench throughout her freshman and sophomore seasons.

But after the 2022-23 season, the team graduated several seniors, including standouts Kayla Padilla, Mandy McGurk and Sydnei Caldwell. After his graduation, Almqvist’s minutes increased, as did his role; Due to a series of injuries in the attacking zone, coaches urged Almqvist to play more like a forward.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me,” Almqvist said. “A completely new opportunity has opened up for me on the offensive side in terms of scoring that I didn’t have before.”

And he scored.

After starting 27 of 28 games last year, Almqvist’s averages skyrocketed from 3.4 points per game to 15.3, which led the entire team. But it wasn’t just about scoring: Almqvist became a secondary interior presence for the Quakers, averaging 6.4 rebounds per game and 1.1 blocks per game, both good for second on the team. The season earned him second-team All-Ivy honors.

But Almqvist’s value goes beyond statistics. Now, after three years on the Red and Blue team, Almqvist has been elected team captain, along with fellow guard Lizzy Groetsch.

“(They both) came in as freshmen and (you can) see where they are now in terms of maturity, growth and selflessness,” coach Mike McLaughlin said. “But I believe that to be a great leader you have to bring out the best in everyone. So I think we have two specials.”

The title is not something Almqvist takes lightly. She is inspired by the captains who came before her and seeks to emulate their greatest qualities.

“It means a lot because the captains I’ve had during my time here at Penn have been fantastic,” Almqvist said. “I remember coming here and everything was so new. “School is hard, basketball is hard, everything is hard at first, so I was just trying to adjust and balance.”

Having been in place just a few years ago, Almqvist hopes to ease the transitions for freshmen players and keep them excited about playing more basketball in their final year at Penn.

But most importantly, Almqvist wants to maintain that family aspect to the team that has been so formative for her. In Sweden, basketball courts were limited and a large number of teams were looking to use them, which meant that practices were more strict in terms of time. And because many of his teammates on the pro circuit were older, they had their own lives to attend to and couldn’t bond like Almqvist can now with his teammates.

“There is a whole family here,” he said. “You spend a lot of time with them, it’s so different… it’s not just that we go to practice. When practice is over, we go to dinner together. It’s all that and I think it’s different.”

Now, Almqvist has one last season to appreciate the college basketball experience. There’s a lot to be excited about this season: the new Big 5 Classic, Ivy League games and the Ivy League tournament, and a pair of rematches with rival Princeton. But for Almqvist, the moments with his family, both in Sweden and the United States, will always be the most meaningful.