After quitting aquatics for two years, Brittany Nauta has proved she still belongs in the pool.
By LAURA LEE
Published November 20, 2003
It seems so long ago, Brittany Nauta can't remember why she quit swimming to take up soccer.
It was so long ago she can't even remember why she came back. But if she hadn't, Nauta, a junior at Palm Harbor University, would not have been able to claim she holds the county's best times in the 100 backstroke and 100 freestyle or that she'd won two gold medals and a silver at the state finals last month.
The two-year break during the sixth and seventh grade was long enough that when she got back in the water, she felt like she'd never swam before.
"It was like starting over," Nauta said.
While she was away, her younger sister, Chelsea, a freshman state title winner at Tampa Prep, became a national record holder at age 10. She had never had such success, but she returned without pressure from her coaches or parents. In four years she has worked her way to being competitive at the national level.
"She came back with a better understanding of what she could do," said Rich Rogers, Nauta's club coach with Tampa Bay Aquatics since she started swimming at 8.
This season Nauta helped Palm Harbor win the first event at the state meet in Sebastian. The Hurricanes' 200 medley relay of Colleen Bauza, Jessica Deng, Candace Thornburg and Nauta, who was the anchor, won by almost a tenth of a second. The relay had a chance at winning last year but lost by four-hundredths of a second.
"I think last year she got a little taste of what could happen," Palm Harbor coach Lisa Bitting said. "We were really that close. I think that motivated her to train."
Similar to last year Nauta started the last leg of the relay a little behind, but this time she closed the gap and finished first.
"It was amazing," Nauta said. "We're such a young team. We're such a strong relay and we're all close friends."
Last year at state Nauta qualified for the finals in the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle, finishing sixth in both events. This year she finished first in the 100 backstroke and second in the 100 freestyle.
Nauta didn't start training in the backstroke seriously until this past summer. Rogers watched her in practice and noticed her splits were even and she was more a more efficient swimmer in the backstroke than in the freestyle. Rogers decided she would focus more on the backstroke.
"It's paid off for her," Rogers said. "She's done well and she's more confident."
Like several area swimmers, Nauta is working toward qualifying for the Olympic trials this summer. She will attempt to do so in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 backstroke and 200 backstroke. As far as next season goes, she's not banking on bringing home any new hardware, but she'll settle for shaving a few seconds off her times.
"It's about the times, because that's all you can control," Nauta said.
Coach of the year
Lisa Bitting, Palm Harbor University's coach for its eight-year history, encouraged the Hurricanes to a third-place finish at the Class 3A state finals. Although she was too nervous to watch, PHU won its first gold medal in the 200 medley relay. The Hurricanes also held some of the top times in the county in several events.
