Myers emerges as campus leader, swimming star

By GREG HANSEN
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The most dominating athlete on the University of Arizona campus is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs maybe 102 pounds. Her coach endearingly calls her "Munchkin."

She is Jennie Finch, Amanda Beard and Natalie Gulbis with a killer smile.

"I don't think I have the vocabulary to describe her," said Becky Bell, director of the Arizona's athletic life-skills program. "She has impeccable character; she's friendly, a leader, humble, happy and an honor student. And did you know she is a finalist to be homecoming queen?"

Whitney Myers is the NCAA's best female swimmer (if not, no worse than No. 1-A with Georgia's Kara Lynn Joyce). When the Wildcats open the swimming season Friday afternoon, Myers will be the national favorite in three events, two of which she won at the 2006 NCAA championships in March.

"I don't know how she finds time to sleep at night," said Bell. "She is as good as they come."

Myers, a senior from Ursuline Academy in Cincinnati, majors in biology and is taking upper division pre-pharmacy classes. She teaches a science class every day at Mansfeld Middle School and is co-vice chairman of the Pac-10's student advisory board. On Wednesday, she volunteered for a speaking engagement at a community luncheon.

All of that is in addition to her daily training regimen, which includes three days of double workouts.

Myers' coach, Frank Busch, has difficulty finding words when asked to describe the Pac-10's 2006 women's swimmer of the year.

"Oh, wow," he said. "Wow. That's a hard one. She's a special person. She's not just one of the best collegiate swimmers. She's one of the best in the world."

Over the last eight months, Myers has emerged as one of America's leading swimmers, male or female, college or pro. Not only did she win two national championships (the 200 individual medley and the 400 IM) but she also was the key component in Arizona's two dramatic NCAA championship relay teams.

That's four national championships in a week.

At July's Pan Pacific Championships - competing for the USA's national swimming team - Myers was selected Female Swimmer of the Meet, edging within .06 of a second of the American record in the 200 IM. She then was added to the USA roster for the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.

Myers began swimming when she was 4.

"My mom wouldn't let me start until I could swim a lap by myself," she remembers. The swimming genes in her family are good ones: older brother Travis Myers was an All-American diver at Ohio State.

She was the Ohio High School Swimmer of the Year by the time she was a sophomore at Ursuline, at which time Busch became aware of her name through some hometown Cincinnati connections.

On July 1, 2002, the first day college coaches were allowed to make contact with high school seniors-to-be, Busch was in Cincinnati driving to the home of Tim and Sally Myers.

The nation's leading swimming programs, including Georgia, Auburn and Florida, had been recruiting Myers for months. Getting her to enroll at faraway Arizona seemed somewhat of a stretch.

But Busch and Myers soon bonded - she told the homecoming queen selection committee last week that Busch is the most influential person in her life - and although she misses the autumn and spring seasons of Ohio, Myers goes home only for Christmas vacation these days.

Where she goes from here is unclear. Busch insists she is just getting started, improving month to month.

Leading the fourth-ranked Wildcats to the national championship is her immediate goal; in Myers' years, Arizona has finished second and third nationally, and might have its best squad yet. Beyond that? The 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I envisioned doing this," she said without a trace of ego. "If you don't aim high, if you don't believe in yourself, you can't get the best from yourself.

"My college career has been the best. I had no idea there would be all of these opportunities. The athletic department has opened so many doors for me; sometimes I get stressed because of all my responsibilities - I don't even watch my favorite TV shows any more - but I love what I'm doing."

Next week, the Wildcats will travel to USC and UCLA for two important Pac-10 swimming meets. Reluctantly, for the first time, Myers will not be with her teammates. She will remain in Tucson for homecoming weekend, fulfilling her role as a queen finalist. "It was such a difficult decision," she said. "I want so much to be with my teammates. But Coach Busch reminded me that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I don't know where swimming will take me, or how long it will last, but I think the best is yet to come."