"Warrior Worrall" On The Rise
March 6, 2012
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – In a sport as internationally prominent as swimming, the job of head coach becomes infinitely more difficult when balancing time spent recruiting, practicing, and balancing the team schedule with trials and events on a global scale.
But as long as swimmers like British international Lucy Worrall can make their way to Coral Gables from across the Atlantic, University of Miami head coach Christie Shefchunas won’t be complaining anytime soon.
“I don’t think there’s a limit with what Lucy can accomplish,” Shefchunas said of her uber-talented freshman. “She’s someone I can envision winning NCAA’s in the next couple of years. She’s got loads of talent, but not only that, she has passion. That’s something you can’t teach.”
Worrall, who recently traveled back to her homeland to compete in Olympic trials, set a new personal best in her main event, the 100-butterfly (1.00.23), and earned a spot in the trial finals in London. Though she barely missed the national cut with a seventh-place finish, Worrall’s outstanding performance only furthered Shechunas’ belief in her rising star.
“She’s a warrior. Her teammates call her ‘Warrior Worrall,’ because she busts her butt every single day. She has talent coming out of her ears,” Shefchunas said.
It’s not easy to balance the goals of the individual with those of the team in a sport with such complex scheduling, but Shefchunas clearly recognizes the benefits. Three of the team’s top swimmers, including Worrall, recent NCAA Championships-qualifier Sofia Johansson (Ramlosa, Sweden) and backstroke specialist Roxanne Meyer (Johannesburg, South Africa), all hail from outside the United States.
“They have their meets going on which adds more to the schedule,” Shefchunas said. “Lucy had these Olympic Trials that we obviously wanted to focus on because she had a legitimate chance of making the team, and we had our recent ACC Championships. It adds huge experience for them and only makes them better.”
Worrall, who finished fourth in the conference championships in the 100-fly, calculates to be one of the conference’s top returning swimmers next season.
As for Worrall’s future, Shefchunas is excited at the thought of the Vicars Cross native blooming into one of the nation’s top swimmers. With Worrall’s confidence on the rise after a terrific freshman campaign, Shefchunas knows the sky is the limit for her young star.
“I honestly think she’s going to be different than she’s ever been. She has proved a lot to herself this year. She proved she still does have it,” Shefchunas said. “Once a woman starts believing, there’s really no stopping. There’s no limit at this point, she’s going to be better than ever.”
