Suffolk News-Herald

Before Meredith Law’s high school swimming career was half over, she’d already won two state titles. As the second year of her college vocation winds down, the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy alumnus is already racking up the records at the University of Delaware.

In her freshman and sophomore years at Cape Henry Collegiate, Law took the 200- and 500-freestyle Virginia championships. After moving to NSA for her last two years, Law made life rough for opposing TCIS teams, setting school individual records in the 200- and 500-freestyle and 400-butterly and helping the 200- and 400-medley and 200-freestyle relay squads to the quickest times in Lady Saint history.

&uot;I’ve always been a distance swimmer,&uot; said Law, who got her start in the pools of Norfolk’s Old Dominion Aquatic Club, which trains U.S. championship swimmers, in her younger years. &uot;There’s the endurance factor. It’s more of a mental game. If someone’s next to you, are they going to teeter off, or be there with you at the end?&uot;

She didn’t waste time in the Land of Lady Hens, teaming with Kristen Avioli (West Chester, Pa.), Kim Fields (Severna Park, Md.), and Sara Reed (West Chester, Pa.) to win the 400-freestyle relay in her second meet in October 2003, a victory over Suffolk’s neighbor Old Dominion University (ODU). Law, Avioli, Lauren Ostroski (Norristown, Pa.) and Sarah Bacewicz (Tolland, Conn.) teamed to take the event the next month in a win over Drexel.

Just over a year ago, on Jan. 11, Law finally grabbed her first individual win, taking the 500-freestyle in a victory over Towson and James Madison. She did even better two weeks later in a defeat of Loyola, winning both the 200- and 500-freestyle.

Then, on Feb. 18, on the first day of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Champion-ships at George Mason University, Law snared an even bigger part of the spotlight. She, Reed, Sarah Peffer (Newark, Del.), and Jill Fitzgerald (Warminster, Pa.) took first place in the 800-relay with a time of 7:35.91, breaking not only the school record of 7:43.61 and the CAA meet record of 7:35.76.

&uot;That was amazing,&uot; said Law, who swam the second leg of the race. &uot;By the time the race rolled around, I didn’t feel like a freshman anymore. It wasn’t an age thing. (Fitzgerald and Peffer) were seniors, and they were saying, ‘Let’s break the record while we’re still here!’&uot;

Last fall, Law, who majors in history education and minors in English with hopes to teach history someday, headed back for her sophomore year. Again, she got off to a quick start, taking the 1,000-freestyle and swimming the first leg of the winning 200-freestyle relay team in a season-opening defeat of Georgetown.

Law won the 500-freestyle three days later in a loss to George Mason, then came to Norfolk to compete in a tri-meet with ODU and William and Mary. For the first time of the season, she competed in the 1,650-freestyle, finishing third with a time of 17:58.97.

Her streak got re-started quickly as she took the 500- and 1,000-freestyle in defeats of Drexel and Rider. Then, on Dec. 4, she got ready for another mile-long go-round at the Bucknell Invitational in Lewisburg, Pa.

&uot;The first time I swam it, I was having a bad weekend,&uot; she said, &uot;so I was really psyched to do it again.&uot;

For the first part of the race, Law’s competitors might have figured that they’d left her behind. Little did they know, it was exactly what she wanted them to feel.

&uot;The way I swim is to go out moderately,&uot; she said. &uot;I start off the back half of the heat, then start catching people as I go.&uot;

As the race drained on, Law started to stroke back through the pack, passing one swimmer after another. Then, with just a few laps left, she hit the jetstream.

&uot;I almost always negative-split,&uot; she said. &uot;That’s when you go faster in the second heat than in the first.&uot;

By the time the results came in, she wasn’t concerned; she’d finished in 17:23.31, over 12 seconds faster than second-place Brittany Daly of the University of New Hampshire.

&uot;My time absolutely floored me,&uot; she said. &uot;I knew it wasn’t close, but I didn’t know I’d gone that fast.&uot;

But it wasn’t just the Bucknell swimmers she’d beaten; a few days later, Law found that her time had been the fastest of the year in the CAA.

&uot;My jaw just dropped,&uot; she said. &uot;I had no idea.&uot;

She didn’t slow down, neither literally nor figuratively, winning the 500- and 1,000-free in a loss to Towson and defeats of James Madison and Loyola, and she, Reed, Kendall Warren (Downingtown, Pa.) and Ellen Heinz (West Chester, Pa.) took the 800 relay in the Madison win, and Law, Heinz, Reed and Kim Gravatt (West Chester, Pa.) got the 400 in the Loyola victory.

On Feb. 23, she’ll go back to the scene of her first record-breaker at the CAA championships come back around.

&uot;I’m so excited for that meet,&uot; she said. &uot;I always got sick before TCIS meets, but I haven’t gotten sick this year.

&uot;I feel like I’ve really come into my own. High school swimming is way more team-oriented and spirited, and (the Old Dominion Aquatic Club) is really hard; you’re training countless hours every week. I feel like I’ve found the perfect blend.&uot;