A year makes an ocean of difference. Twelve months ago, Luk Boral was swimming in Poland, setting national records and making a name for himself. One calendar year later, the freshman standout has had to face challenges like swimming in a shorter pool, handling studies on top of training and mastering the English language.

Ellie Walker looks at her watch. The assistant coach of 12 years says he should be here. Assistant coach Ian Coffey doesn’t look so surprised. ‘It is Luk,’ Coffey says. ‘He is on Luk time. Always five minutes behind everyone else.’

Out of the pool the charismatic Boral, who is always sporting a smile and a very approachable demeanor, may in fact be a bit behind schedule. When he is in the water, however, it is a completely different story. In the pool he is on his own schedule, setting his own pace and, in many instances this year, his own records.

This weekend Boral’s season will come to a pinnacle and an ending. The freshman will represent the Syracuse swimming team at the NCAA men’s championships. The prestigious event will be held at the Nassau County Aquatics Center in East Meadow.

Boral appears through a side door at Webster Pool. He makes small talk with his coaches and begins to get ready for his final practice. His final practice before one of the biggest races of his life.

‘This is my first time going to the NCAAs,’ Boral said. ‘I am going more for experience than anything else. I want to see how guys swim, what it all is like.’

One of the fastest meets in the world will conclude Saturday. Boral – SU’s first male swimmer to earn passage to the event since Djordje Filipovic did so in 2001 – will compete on the 200-meter breaststroke.

‘I would like to be top 16,’ Boral explains. ‘The top eight times from the preliminaries swim in the finals. The second eight swim in what is like consolation finals.’

Should Boral do that, he would be one of the top 16 swimmers in his event. Unbeatable in the event, Boral has already set university and pool records en route to winning the Big East Championships in the event last month. In the conference championships last month, he swam his strongest event in a time of 1:59.30. A time he would improve at the Tar Heel Invitational (1:58.57).

The fast times, combined with recent improvement have Boral seeded 21st in his event. For Boral, though, neither the seed nor the meet seem to faze him. As a high school standout in Poland, he swam in races of such magnitude, but it was different.

‘It’s weird,’ Boral says, ‘All the championships were easier in Poland. School is much harder now. On the weekend, all I do is my work. If not, I would fall behind. In Poland, the work was not as much a factor in my training and racing.’

In just a year this easy-going, good-natured freshman has already garnered the respect of his team and, ultimately, his conference. This weekend, Boral looks to put his name on the national level at the NCAA meet. And a strong performance – which he has had many of this winter – will give him instant national respect.

Published on March 25, 2004 at 12:00 pm