UM swimmers seeking return to the fast lanes

It has been 25 months since the University of Maine varsity swimming program was condemned to elimination during the early days of the institution’s budget crunch.

Shortly thereafter, Bangor authors Stephen King and Tabitha King threw a $30,000 life buoy into the water and kept the teams afloat for another season, long enough to find alternative financial support.

And, while it hasn’t been like old times at Stanley Wallace Pool in Orono, Coach Jeff Wren said the Black Bears are making steady progress in their quest to put UMaine swimming back in the fast lane.

“We got the stuffing kicked out of us a couple years ago when they were going to cut the program,” said Wren, the 23rd-year head coach now in his fourth season directing both teams. “It will continue to take some time to recover from that. Numbers are down significantly from what we used to have, but we’re making progress and we’re working real hard.”

The men’s team is 2-7, while the women check in at 1-8 heading into Wednesday’s home meet against Colby College. Wren said the Bears’ pool progress can’t be measured in their dual-meet records.

The 6 p.m. meet will provide UMaine swimmers with a final chance qualify for the North Atlantic Conference and ECAC championships later this month.

Balance has been an elusive element, particularly for the Black Bear women’s squad, which has only 14 swimmers. With uncertainty surrounding the program in 1991-92, recruiting suffered.

“We’ve got a nice corps of backstrokers and freestylers coming on,” Wren said. “We just don’t have any butterflyers or divers.”

Team leaders on the youthful women’s team include junior freestyler Christine Doherty of Central Valley, N.Y., junior breastroker Jennifer Riley and freshman backstroker Sarah Riley, both of Lumberville, Pa.

Other keys include freshmen Stacey Bloemen and Ginny Ouellette, and senior captain Betsy Lewis, all of whom swam for Dave Ploch at Old Town High School.

“Most of our points are actually coming from freshmen and a couple of juniors,” Wren said of the women. “I think what’s happening is some of them have found new specialties, things they might not have been needed in or that might not have existed (in high school).”

Bloemen has qualified for the NAC Championship, scheduled for Feb. 18-20 at Delaware, in the 200 freestyle and Ouellette in the 200 backstroke, both events those women had never swum before.

Doherty is expected to be a finalist at the NACs in the 200 individual medley and the 500 free, while the Riley sisters are threats in the breaststroke and backstroke.

“The women’s team is small, but they’ve been real close and happy and hardworking all year long,” Wren said. “There’s a lot of good personalities there.”

The 22-member Maine men’s team is coming off a good performance in Saturday’s 127-114 loss to New Hampshire. Senior co-captains Jeff Small and Todd Springer have been among the pace-setters.

Small, a freestyle sprinter from Cape Elizabeth, is on track to be a factor in the championships. Springer continues to rank among the top backstrokers in the NAC and the ECAC, having qualified for both title meets.

“Jeff Small and Todd Springer were in the first class of men that I ever had,” Wren said. “They’ve been real good leaders as captains this year and real achievers in the water.”

The Bears boast a couple of other swimmers who are within reach of qualifying for the NACs and ECACs. They are junior freestyler Ralph Sawyer of Kennebunk, sophomore breaststroke man Max Maximov of Moscow, Russia.

Maine features strong relay entries, including the 200 free squad, which is the second fastest in the school’s history, and the 400 free relay unit made up of Sawyer, Small, Keith Nickels of Bar Harbor and Cape Elizabeth’s Gerhard Saas.

“It’s taken a special kind of period to want to be involved in this program,” Wren said. “We’re beginning to establish some reasonable credibility at this point. I think that can only continue to improve.”

Wren is optimistic about the championship meets.

“We’re going to do things (time-wise) this year that these kids didn’t even think they could do,” Wren said. “We’re going to surprise some people.”