March 11, 2005
By: Anthony Olivieri, Marist Sports Information
In December, Marist swimming coach Larry Van Wagner had the Red Foxes on a two-mile run in the heat of the Arizona desert.
Their destination, a steep mountain in the distance, couldn't come quickly enough for star swimmer Lauren Malski and the rest of her teammates.
As the Red Foxes arrived at the base of the mountain, Malski was relieved that the dry-land exercises were over and she could take a leisurely stroll up the paved path to end the day's workout.
"I thought we were going to hike up the mountain," Malski said. "But coach said `Ok, run up the mountain now.' Everyone was so tired, but it really helped us with our endurance throughout the season."
The rugged desert terrain aside, there wasn't much that could slow down Malski in her pursuit to be the best individual swimmer in Marist history.
In 2003-2004, as a freshman, she made school history in becoming the first individual athlete at Marist to make an NCAA qualifying standard.
This season, Malski again qualified for the NCAA "B" cut in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, a very impressive feat for anyone, especially for a second-year competitor.
"I'm really proud of making the NCAA championships," she said. "It something that isn't easy to do and I just feel good that I was the first Marist swimmer ever to make it."
In her NCAA qualifying swim in the 100 breaststroke finals, she set a MAAC record with a time of 1:03.85, which is one-hundredth of a second under the NCAA "B" cut mark.
The NCAA Swimming Championships take the swimmers with the top 30 times, or the "A" cut, to compete at the championship meet.
Malski describes herself as an extremely competitive person, and is even disappointed that she did not make the "A" cut this season.
"I feel like I could have gone faster in the 100," she said. "I went faster last year in that event, and that really upset me."
In her short career as a Red Fox, that was about the only thing that she could be upset about.
The Marist women's swim team has won Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles in seven of the last 10 seasons, including both of Malski's seasons, making them an annual powerhouse.
Malski attributes her own success, and that of the team, to the influence of Van Wagner and his positive influence on a day to day basis.
"He motivates us and he gives really good team speeches before our races making the atmosphere and the weeks leading up to MAACs really inspiring," she said. "It gives us a lot of desire to do well."
Malski also said that she doesn't feel pressure in being the top swimmer on the MAAC's best team, but instead feels that it drives her to succeed.
"It motivates me, and it motivates our team, because we want to keep the tradition going in the MAAC," she said. "It is the most exciting time of year when we are going into the MAAC meet because of the energy and it makes everyone swim faster."
As a nine-year old, Malski began swimming near her Connecticut home, but it wasn't until high school that she began to get really serious about herself as a swimmer.
She had to make a tough decision in choosing between swimming and dancing, another activity that she enjoyed in her spare time.
"I decided to really concentrate on swimming in high school," she said. "I really enjoyed dancing, and I'm still kind of sad that I had to give it up, but I just really love to swim."
Malski has two more years of eligibility left as a swimmer for the Red Foxes, and she isn't satisfied with what she has accomplished just yet
"I want to make the "A" cut in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke next year," she said. "I definitely want to go faster, and break all of the records that were set this year, too."
As the season is winding down, Malski said that she doesn't know what to do with herself because swimming takes up most of her day.
She could always take a trip back to the desert.