By Mike Szvetitz
Sports Editor, Opelika-Auburn News
Published: March 26, 2008

Richard Quick isn’t caught up in the past.

It’s the past, after all.

He’s only focused on the present. Here. Now. Today.

He and his Auburn swimmers have even made a pact this week to not talk about anything that’s already happened.

That’s the way he’s approached his profession as a head coach for the last 30 years. So why would this year, with this team, be any different?

Well, maybe because when the 2008 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships begin today at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., Auburn University will be going for its sixth consecutive and eighth overall national title.

Maybe because with a win this weekend, Quick will pass former Auburn head coach David Marsh for most NCAA swimming and diving titles, ever, with 13.

Maybe because the Tigers, as always, are expected to win, again.

Maybe because the pressure’s on, especially after the Auburn women fell short of their third consecutive NCAA crown less than a week ago.

Maybe because of all the NCAA and SEC championship banners looming over his head every day for the last 11 months, since he came back to coach the Tigers.

Maybe?

“The only thing those championship banners do is celebrate the history of this program,” Quick said sitting under them at AU’s James E. Martin Aquatics Center just before the Tigers left for the women’s NCAA event. “The only thing it means to the current athlete is it might enhance their beliefs, but in our sport, like all sports, no one inherits anything.

“Not one thing that was done last year is going to help us this year. The challenge is to recreate our success in the moment.”

And the plan is simple: Go all out.

“Our team is not as deep as it’s been,” Quick said, referring to Auburn’s 15 individual swimmers competing in this week’s three-day event. “In order to win, our top-level performers must really perform well. We’ve got to hit on all cylinders.”

Leading the way for the Tigers will be juniors Cesar Cielo and Alexei Puninski.

Cielo is the world’s fastest man after posting a time of 18.69 in the 50 free at last year’s NCAAs. The Brazilian is a six-time NCAA champion and the 2007 NCAA Swimmer of the Year.

But for Cielo, it’s not about individual records or times, it’s about winning as a team.

“My goal is to score as much as possible to help the team,” he said. “If we all can do that, we’ll have a nice shot.

“For me, it’s not about the records, as much as it is to score for the team.”

Puninski will team with Cielo in the 50 and 100 free, as well as the sprint relays. Puninski is also one of the country’s top-five sprinters, and knows the closer he can get to Cielo, the better.

“If you can stay with him, you’re going to have a good time,” Puninski said. “It’s great to compete with Cesar every day — it’s good motivation and you learn a lot. We are both focused on swimming our best at NCAAs.”

Along with AU’s 15 swimmers, which is third-most to Florida’s 17 and Texas’ 16, two divers will also compete for the Tigers this weekend — Dan Mazzaferro, the SEC’s platform champion, and Kelly Marx, the conference’s 1-meter title holder.

As Quick points out, the divers will need to also be at their best this week if Auburn wants to repeat.

“The ideal goal is to have everyone to perform at their fullest potential and have that be enough to score the most points in the meet,” he said. “And if that happens, we have a very good chance.”

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