After four years, the only things swimmer Matt Gerlach regrets at his time at Syracuse are the 10-second loops of bad songs that get stuck in his head while he’s swimming the mile freestyle race.

‘There’s so much time to think about everything when you swim long races,’ Gerlach said. ‘You start getting songs in your head, and then come the bad ones; and then there’s no turning back for the rest of the race.’

The senior from Franklin Square, N.Y., has no regrets because he’s largely a creature of habit. He has performed the same pre-meet routine for the last eight years of his high school and college career, which consists of long and light swims and an individual medley.

With just three meets left in his collegiate career, Gerlach is turning his attention to the Big East Championships, which start Feb. 18 in Indianapolis. In the two weeks leading up to that meet, Gerlach is training to finish in the top five in the mile-long freestyle – a milestone he called his goal for the rest of the season.

And it might not be unreasonable. Gerlach has finished in the top eight each of the last two years at the Big East Championships in the mile-long freestyle – the race he called the most grueling he has ever competed in. But he is prepared for the race, he said, because of the physically and mentally demanding practices he goes through every day.

From being a distance swimmer – he swims the 500 and 1,000-yard and mile freestyle races and the 400-yard individual medley – and a fierce competitor, he said he is ready for Big East. He prefers larger meets, he said, because of the added intensity that comes with them.

‘Sometimes the toughest challenge is getting through a long, grueling practice,’ Gerlach said. ‘Especially the ones where we swim the 10,000.’

But before Big East, Gerlach is anticipating the upcoming dual meet against Villanova as his last true team event. He said dual meets are the biggest difference between high school and college swimming and one of the things he enjoyed most about college swimming.

In the Orange’s last dual meet against Seton Hall on Jan. 24, Gerlach won the 1,000-yard freestyle event with a time of 9 minutes, 55.56 seconds.

Getting up at 5:30 a.m. at least three times per week for practice is a sacrifice he was more than willing to make, because it’s made him a physically and mentally stronger person.

SU head coach Lou Walker said Gerlach is one of the most complete swimmers on the team, mentally and physically.

‘My goals for the kids are always that they improve and be their best on the biggest stage,’ Walker said. ‘Matt is a perfect example of that.’

As he prepares for the last three meets of his swimming career, Gerlach said it’s starting to hit him that the end is near.

‘It’s just weird to think I won’t be doing this anymore, because I started really young and have been doing this for most of my life now,’ he said.

After the Big East meet and his swimming career is over, he’ll be worried about finding a job in a tough economy. But some things he feels will always help him are the lessons he carries with him every day from swimming.

‘No matter what you’re doing, you have to focus on what you’re trying to accomplish, set goals, and then do the work and do it right,’ he said.

bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on February 3, 2009 at 12:00 pm