Swimming Toward a Successful Season

Eric Matuszak '98 understands the importance of team unity in leading the men's swimming and diving team

By Caitlin Colligan

Sports Information Intern

You might be familiar with the old adage, "There is no I in 'TEAM.' " That may well be true, but there is an E in TEAM, and for the Harvard men's swimming and diving team, that E stands for Eric Matuszak. The senior economics concentrator, who began swimming competitively at the age of 3, says his success this year will be measured not by his own individual performance, but by how well the team as a whole performs. Although Matuszak cites an NCAA appearance as a personal goal for his final season of competition, he asserts, "My team's success is going to define my season."

The Crimson finished first in the Eastern Championships last winter -- well ahead of the rest of the field -- to capture its sixth title in the last seven years. In fact, Harvard's 400 freestyle relay team set school, Eastern, and Denunzio Pool (Princeton) records with its winning time of 2:57.97. For the second straight season Harvard sent seven swimmers to the NCAA Championships, where the team placed 18th overall. Of those eight competitors, four -- including Matuszak -- earned All-America honors. Despite this strong showing at the NCAA Championships, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in the 800 free relay, which Matuszak anchored, the swimmers were disappointed. "We walked away feeling that we didn't achieve what we could have," said Matuszak.

This year, Matuszak, one of eight seniors on the team, hopes that his final NCAA appearance will be the most triumphant for the team as a whole. "It's time to be a top 10 team. We've always been the top nonscholarship team, but we can [compete] for a national championship in a relay and we have guys who can win an individual championship."

Matuszak explains that his team-oriented views mark quite a change in attitude from his freshman year. But it is certainly not the only change he has made since the beginning of his collegiate athletic career. He transferred to Harvard after one year at Cal-Berkeley. Though it was difficult for Matuszak, who considers himself a Californian, to give up surfing in the Pacific in exchange for the cold New England winters, the lack of team unity at Berkeley made him realize a change was necessary if he wanted to continue swimming. When he transferred, he expected a less intense program than Cal-Berkeley's.

What he got, however, were more practice hours, a more rigorous training environment, and a lot better team environment. It was this improved atmosphere that helped Matuszak become a team player.

"Back then it was all about me," he says, citing an instance during his freshman season at Berkeley. He recalls being frustrated after a disappointing performance in a relay in which he clocked the slowest split time, despite the fact that the relay placed third in the NCAA Championships. The process of evolution in attitude from individual to team has been slow, but he says, "this year, being a captain, I feel a greater tendency to focus on the team's goals." He says he could "walk away swimming poorly individually and great on the relays" and still deem the season a tremendous success.

Harvard is eyeing another banner year. Under Head Coach Mike Chasson, the Crimson has gone 59-9 and coached 22

All-Americans.

Though Matuszak would like to qualify for the NCAAs in individual events such as the 200 freestyle, in which he placed 13th last year, his forte is the relay. Swimming the last leg of the relay has been something Matuszak has done since he was very young. He says he swims faster and enjoys the pressure of anchoring the relay -- watching three-quarters of the race and then diving in and doing his part to win for his team. It is not surprising then, that one of Matuszak's fondest memories of his athletic career at Harvard is of a relay he anchored his sophomore year.

Matuszak acknowledges that during his first year at Harvard he didn't really appreciate the tradition behind Ivy League. He explains that the rivalries surrounding the League were something he hadn't grown up with, and a definite change from his first year of college swimming. But the Harvard-Yale-Princeton meet, a typically loud gathering at which lots of alumni come to cheer on their alma maters, Matuszak came to realize the importance of the age-old rivalries. During the first event, his relay came from behind to win the race by a couple of hundredths of a second. "It was an exciting race in and of itself, and then you realize what it means -- the years and years of Harvard and Yale racing together. . . ." It made him quite aware of the rich tradition that surrounds his team.

The upcoming season will once again renew those old rivalries, as well as bring a fresh set of challenges to the newly formed '97-98 squad. One of Matuszak's tasks as captain is to help the newcomers to feel they really are a part of the team. Says Matuszak, "I don't think you can underestimate how much impact we have on each other here."

From nicknaming the freshmen to recommending classes to cheering each other on in competition, the swimmers' four years at Harvard are dramatically shaped by their teammates. Luckily for this year's Crimson squad, their experience will include a leader who understands and treasures the importance of team unity. A leader like Eric Matuszak.