Star-Bulletin Sports


Wednesday, March 3, 1999


W A T E R _ S P O R T S




By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Three first-place finishes at the HHSAA swim
championships didn't earn Maureen Flanagan a break
from the pool. The Punahou senior dives right in to
water polo season next. After graduating this year,
Flanagan will play water polo for UCLA.



Not Just
Treading Water

Punahou senior Maureen Flanagan's
water polo career is moving full speed
ahead, with her next stop at UCLA,
the top program in the nation

By Cindy Luis
Star-Bulletin

Tapa

HER favorite subject is math. But don't ask Maureen Flanagan to count the number of laps she's done in a swimming career that's being going on "longer than I can remember," she said.

The Punahou School senior would need a calculator with plenty of room for zeros. She's not complaining, however -- not after the hours of training paid off last weekend at the high school state swimming championships.

The 17-year-old won two individual titles and was also part of the Buffanblu's record-setting 200-yard freestyle relay team. Flanagan had little time to celebrate, though; she was back at the pool yesterday as Punahou began practice for the ILH water polo season.

It's water polo that will provide Flanagan with an ocean of opportunity. She has accepted a scholarship from powerhouse UCLA, with the goal of making the U.S. national team.

"Water polo is more fun than swimming," said Flanagan. "I like the whole team thing. It's a heads-up game. Plus, your head isn't always in the water."

Flanagan's vision during a water polo match is "excellent," Buffanblu coach Ken Smith said. "She sees the pool so well and has got the speed to go with it.

"When I first saw her (in 9th grade), I thought she had a lot of potential. But I didn't think she would become this good this quickly. My feeling is, in a very short period of time, she has set the standard for female players in Hawaii."

Shari Baird-Smart remembers introducing Flanagan to water polo while coaching her on the Oahu Club's swim team.

"It was real obvious from the beginning that she was going to be very good," said Baird-Smart, now in her second year as University of Hawaii women's water polo coach. "She's very athletic and she pursued the sport. She was with us when we started the junior water polo program. We had a coed team in the Aloha State Games and she was the leading scorer.

"I've been close to her family for years and, of course, I'm disappointed that she won't be playing for me in college. But I'm happy for 'Mo.' ... It's a great opportunity for her. It shows we can produce top-level players in Hawaii."

The lack of consistent top-quality competition may have hurt Flanagan's chances to make the U.S. junior national and youth teams during tryouts last summer.

Girls' water polo is in its third official varsity season here as opposed to California, which sanctioned the sport in the early 1990s. Water polo is the fastest-growing collegiate sport for women, and the NCAA will hold its first national championship in 2001.

Women's water polo will be in the Olympics for the first time next year in Sydney. Flanagan's goal is to be part of the U.S. team in Athens in 2004.

"I think (making) the Olympics is realistic," said Flanagan.

"Part of the reason I chose UCLA was because of the coaches (UCLA coach Guy Baker is the national team coach). And there are several national team players already there. Playing with them will only make me better."

Motivation has never been a problem for Flanagan. One of her first coaches at The Oahu Club was former Olympian Rowdy Gaines.

She also had two older brothers to emulate. John, who swam at powerhouse Auburn, is back home coaching Rainbow Aquatics; Kevin is competing for Florida State.

"When I was younger, the motivation was to keep improving my times," said Flanagan. "Then I sort of plateaued and it got hard. When I started water polo, it helped break up the swimming season and it was easy to get motivated for the three-month high school season."

Flanagan's goal last weekend was to improve on her previous state finishes. As a sophomore, she was third in the 50 free and fourth in the 100 back; as a junior, she was second to Maui's Saree Hoopii in both events.

Saturday, she edged out Hoopii by half a second in the 50 and won the 100 by 1.17 seconds against Lahainaluna's Jessica Nohara.

"It was very satisfying to win an individual event for the first time and see the hard work pay off," Flanagan said.

Flanagan has been the ILH's co-MVP for water polo the past two seasons. Smith expects a third award this year.

"Something that never changes with Maureen is how she comes to practice each day wanting to compete," said Smith. "She works really hard and always wants to push herself harder. She's very competitive with herself. Her only drawback I see for her in college is her size (5-foot-7), but she can compensate with her speed.

"We always have her defend the other team's top scorer, which puts her at a disadvantage to get back on offense. But she's such an aggressive sprinter that she's been one of our leading scorers each year."

Smith, who played water polo at UCLA from 1964-68, said Flanagan is the consummate athlete, with the right blend of physical and mental ability.

"She's really competitive but you can see she's having fun," said Smith. "The crazier it gets, the tighter the game, the more fun she has. She's at her best when everything is on the line.

"She's got everything: attitude, effort, ability, dedication, leadership. She's not there yet, but she's going to be a top collegiate player. She is the type that will relish that challenge."



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