Pierce finishes fourth, fails to qualify for NCAA games
By SHEILA EGTS
Sports Writer
UNIONDALE, N.Y.
Seven Irish swimmers lined the poolside with "Go Irish" painted on their bare chests Saturday, waving green shirts and yelling for senior Jonathan Pierce as he launched off the starting block for the 1,650-yard freestyle.
Pierce passed that group of seven a total of 66 times, tearing back and forth through the water at a pace faster than he had swum in his entire life.
But when he pulled himself out of the water, Pierce stared up at a scoreboard that showed a fourth-place finishing time of 15 minutes, 32.37 seconds, less than four short seconds shy of the NCAA qualifying time.
Pierce was a two-year champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle until Pittsburgh sophomore Eric Limkemann stripped him of the title last year. He was positioned in second place behind Limkemann for the majority of the race, but he swam the first half too fast and could not maintain the pace. The growing gap between first and second became impossible to close.
In the last few laps, St. John's Michal Szapiel and Virginia Tech's Greg Kubovcik picked up the pace and pushed Pierce all the way back to fourth place.
"I saw them approaching, but there was really nothing I could do. I knew I had gone out fast because I had to go for the win, but then I just hit a wall," said Pierce about his racing strategy. "When you go 1,500 yards as hard as you can, it kinda catches up with you. I didn't have what I needed, but I'll always know that I gave it everything I had."
As captain of the team, Pierce has received constant praise from his coaches and his fellow swimmers for his positive attitude and team-oriented focus. He lived up to that praise on Saturday.
Where spectators saw a disappointing drop from secondto fourth in the last few laps, Pierce saw a finishing time that improved on his personal best by three seconds. He saw the points he had scored for the team as the Irish's top performer at Big East. He saw memories of team support that pushed him to top his season off with the best swim of his career.
"I saw them the whole time standing there cheering and waving shirts for fifteen minutes," said Pierce. "I probably would have fallen off sooner if not for those guys. I was working as hard as I could to come through for the team, but it just didn't pan out as I hoped."
According to Pierce, he was concerned that he had not fulfilled his obligation to the team when he placed fifth in the 500-freestyle on Thursday. But for the effort he made as leader and role model, Pierce means more to his teammates that points on the scoreboard.
"I don't know how we are going to cope without him swimming with us next year, without him encouraging us and pacing us in the distance lane." said sophomore J.R. Teddy, who swam alongside Pierce in the the 1,650-yard freestyle Saturday.
Pierce was especially close to his fellow distance swimmers, a close-knit group within the team. Pierce and the other distance swimmers printed shirts for the season that read "Welcome to the D-House," a name they give themselves as a cohesive unit.
"I've really enjoyed coming in as a freshman and having guys like Jonathan to train with," said fellow distance swimmer Matt Bertke. "By his actions and the way he swims, he has definitely been a leader."
Pierce will swim in his final meet next week at Rolfs Aquatic Center. Even with only one meet left in the season, Pierce is again focusing at the positive aspects of his college career.
"I love swimming. I love racing. I'm even a pretty big fan of practice at times," said Pierce. "I'm disappointed that I'm nearly done swimming, but I'm also looking forward to just being a normal college student for the last two or three months. It's a disappointment and yet little bit of relief."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 25, 2002
