PREP SWIMMING

Tampa Prep's Fredlake Focused On Teammates And Titles

By MATTHEW POSTINS "Tampa Tribune" correspondent

TAMPA - Grace Fredlake figures she owes her teammates something for the way they embraced her a year ago.

At this time last year, few in Tampa knew Fredlake outside of her name on the starter's sheet at national junior swimming events.

Now, entering the fall swimming season in Hillsborough County, former Tampa Prep assistant Scott Thomas says, "If you have a big gun in Tampa swimming, she's it."

Fredlake, a junior, will probably hear her name plenty of times this season during medal presentations. The Atlanta native finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley and second in the 500 freestyle last year at the FHSAA Class 1A state championships. Additionally, Fredlake pitched in on a pair of fourth-place relay finishes.

Her personality, though, may be a perfect fit for her team. New Tampa Prep coach Richard Wertman calls her "charming, witty, bright, a barrel of fun and a great athlete, too." Fredlake seems determined to spread that enthusiasm throughout the entire program.

Wertman said each of Tampa Prep's junior captains - including Fredlake - came to him independently this offseason and said they wanted to reach out to the program's younger swimmers. Wertman called it a sort-of "Big Brothers, Big Sisters" type of program, where the older swimmers take a higher level of interest in developing the younger swimmers.

The veteran swim coach - who has coached in Seattle and Albuquerque, N.M. - said he learned quickly Fredlake had more than a passing interest in the program.

"That's a microcosm of who she is in terms of caring about people and being the best," Wertman said. "She gives more than lip service to help."

Fredlake certainly doesn't have to. This is a huge year for her in terms of deciding where she will continue her education. She'll be taking her SATs and her ACTs, fielding phone calls from major Division I colleges and trying to sort out which school offers her the best combination of athletics and academics. The schools she mentions as possibilities - Stanford, Texas and Notre Dame - are among the top programs in the country.

So why take so much interest in her younger teammates? Call it the Nauta effect.

Fredlake, who has swam everywhere from Pittsburgh to Waterloo, Belgium, and her family were preparing to move to Tampa from Michigan last August. Fredlake said she was planning to move to Tampa at mid-semester. But after she and her father arrived in Tampa for a visit, that all changed.

"It was a Thursday," Fredlake said. "I came in, took the [entrance] test [at Tampa Prep], and two hours later they called and said you need to come in and set up your schedule for Tuesday."

Chelsea Nauta was a senior at Tampa Prep, and one of the area's top swimmers. Coincidentally, her mother was the Fredlakes' real estate broker.

Fredlake spent the next month in a hotel before the rest of her family moved down in mid-October. When her father went out of town, Fredlake said she slept over at Chelsea's home, and she became a sort-of older sister to Fredlake, introducing her to new classmates, sitting with her at lunch and, in Fredlake's words, "getting me through that first semester."

Their friendship was a fast one, considering Fredlake only knew Nauta by her reputation at national swimming events.

"I would have missed the whole thing [if it weren't for her]," Fredlake said. "I wouldn't be a captain as a junior. I probably would have missed out on a ton, and getting an overwhelmingly great friend from Day 1."

That's probably why Fredlake's focus this year isn't just on winning at least two events at the state's most competitive division. She said she wants to be the type of mentor to the rest of Tampa Prep's swim team that Nauta was to her last year.

"I see kids alone at lunch tables and it gets to me," Fredlake said. "We do this, and they won't be sitting by themselves. I'll get to know my whole team, and that's my goal. I don't want to sound corny, but I want to be best friends with all of them. I like to be inclusive. Chelsea introduced herself that way to me, and was an inspiration."

GIRLS TEAMS TO WATCH

GIRLS SWIMMERS TO WATCH

Note: Rankings made in consultation with area coaches and based on 2006 results and returning swimmers.

Matthew Postins