Lisa Garcia leads the Irish through her words and her results
By PAT LEONARD
Sports Writer
When Bailey Weathers accepted the womens swimming head coach's position prior to the 1995-96 season, he knew the type of girl he wanted on his team.
He wanted what every coach wants.
He wanted a leader, a team member who could not only put in the physical effort but encourage her teammates to do the same.
He wanted a contributor, a swimmer who could shoulder the burdens of regular season competition and then rise to the challenge in the post-season.
It was no surprise, then, that the Irish came calling at Cherry Creek High School in Denver, where Lisa Garcia had, among other accomplishments, set state records in the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.
Garcia chose Notre Dame over other top swimming schools and made an immediate impact on an already strong squad. While seniors graduate from championship teams — the Irish have won six straight Big East titles — swimmers like Garcia are the ones who keep the Irish program at the top of the Big East and in the national spotlight.
Born Elizabeth Louise Garcia, the junior has slowly slid her way among the top tier of swimmers for the Notre Dame women. As a sophomore last season, Garcia qualified for her first NCAA championship, setting a school record at the NCAAs with a time of 1:59.28 in the 200 butterfly. She also finished runner-up in the 100 and 200 butterfly in the Big East championships and earned Honorable Mention All-American honors for the 2001-2002 season.
"She's extremely versatile," coach Bailey Weathers said.
Weathers does not use the word `versatile' loosely. In her freshman season for the Irish, the precocious Garcia finished in the top five of nine different individual events for the women. Since, she has honed her skills in particular on the butterfly stroke events, but Garcia regularly contributes in other areas as well.
"She's leading the [Big East] conference in her best event, the 200 butterfly. She does extremely well in the short IM's [individual medleys] and the 100 and 200 freestyle," said Weathers. "She's a good, well-rounded athlete."
Garcia runs away with honors for the best butterfly swimmer in the Big East. After setting the school record at the Big East championships last season, Garcia continued her dominance during Notre Dame's 9-1-1 campaign of 2002-2003.
In the team's first dual meet and victory over Colorado State (162-100), Garcia posted two victories in both the 100 and 200 butterfly. She also captured both butterfly events in a 150-150 tie against Purdue, at the Minnesota Invitational and in a December, 195-105 win over Pittsburgh.
Proving the butterfly is not the only individual event she can dominate in a meet, Garcia won the 200 freestyle (1:52.17) in addition to the 100 butterfly (56.27) in the team's only defeat, a 154-146 loss to then #14 Indiana. She took the 1,000 freestyle and the 100 backstroke (59.70) in a win over Bowling Green, Louisville, and St. Louis in January, as well.
Garcia's talents extend even beyond the individual events. At the 2002 Notre Dame Relays held at the Rolfs Aquatic Center in October, Garcia swam on the 400 individual medley relay team that set a new meet record with a time of 4:00.29, breaking the mark of 4:01.65 set a year ago.
Most important and notable, however, are the junior's intangible qualities of leadership and dedication.
"We are real fortunate our captains are good leaders and we have a lot of juniors who are really good leaders," said Weathers. "Lisa is certainly one."
Weathers says the leadership from the senior and junior classes is the biggest reason for the team's consistency. After graduating numerous top performers from last year's team, the team needs its upperclassmen to step up and take responsibility for holding the swimmers and divers together as a unit.
"We're a different team than last year," Garcia said. "There is no doubt about it. We've have had some tough dual meets and we've had to pull together as team more. We need to depend on each other as a team, and that helps us swim better as a team."
Garcia and other swimmers acknowledge their team is just that, a unit in which the individuals collectively determine the direction of the season. As the Irish so far are headed in the right direction (9-1-1 in dual meet competition), they bring a tough, dedicated mindset that swimmers like Garcia exemplify.
"Lisa has a great work ethic," said Weathers. "She's there [working out and practicing] every day. And she supports hard work for other people."
Garcia and her teammates exhibited this work ethic during the team's week-long training program in Acapulco, which culminated in a 129-69 spanking of Kansas. Garcia won the 200 IM with a time of 2:22.24.
The highlights of Garcia's and the team's season, however, came fittingly in the team's final dual meet competition against Michigan on Feb. 1. It was a close, 153-147 home victory in which Garcia won the 200 butterfly (2:01.03). This butterfly victory, however, meant more than the others.
"For me that was a big race because I knew their butterflier was ranked 9th in the nation. Going in knowing that was mentally difficult," Garcia said. "For me to overcome that is something I've really been trying to work on, to not be worried about who I'm racing against and instead just go out and race."
Not only did the Michigan meet give Garcia fulfillment, it also marked an important confidence booster for the team heading into the Big East championships.
"For the team, that game was a huge barrier," she said. "We did all have to pull together. [This year] we won some races we didn't expect to win and lost some we didn't expect to lose. But we bounced back from things that didn't quite go our way. Ending on that note for the dual meet season was a real big confidence booster."
Though she shows individual leadership and accomplishes her individual goals, Garcia's mind and comments always return to the status and well-being of the team.
Just what Coach Weathers wants.
"Actually one of my favorite quotes is four short words: a little bit more," Garcia said. "What puts the most successful individuals above the crowd is that little bit more. I do what coach tells me [to do] and a little bit more. When I do that, others around me do that and it has kind of a snowball effect. I know I couldn't swim without my teammates, and it's really important to do everything that's expected."
Garcia's drive to succeed is contagious. The team hopes it will continue to be contagious in Uniondale, N.Y., when Notre Dame competes for its seventh straight Big East title.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 12, 2003
