Earlier this month, The News-Gazette capped off junior Lisa Boyce's spectacular debut season as a high school competitor by naming her the area's Swimmer of the Year. The 14-year-old Boyce certainly deserved the honor: The veteran club swimmer, who competes for the Champaign County Heat, went 22-0 in her individual events during the regular season, and she won an IHSA sectional championship in the 100-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke. She and freshman Milee Nelson, sectional champion in the 500 free, became the first Uni female swimmers to qualify for the IHSA state meet since 1994.

Boyce placed fifth at state in the 100 back and 11th in the 100 free. If she swims again for Uni next season, she will be one of the favorites to win a state title. If she doesn't return, that means she will have qualified for USA Swimming's national junior team. Either way, the future is glowing for this phenomenal student-athlete. Gargoyle junior editors Erika Belmont and Maritza Mestre, who also swim for Uni, sat down with Boyce to discover what exactly makes this fashionable, dancing, musical, and speedy swimmer tick.

Questions and Answers with Lisa Boyce

So, you’re The News-Gazette's Swimmer of the Year. Congratulations!

Thank you!

How did that feel to know that you’re 14 and you’re technically a freshman, it’s your first year of high school swimming ever, and you’re all-area Swimmer of the Year?

It’s pretty amazing. I didn’t know if I’d get it or not, this year. Because I wasn’t sure … I thought Mamie Hobbs [from Champaign Central] might get it. She did really well, and she’s a senior, so …

Were you thinking about that at all, like at the beginning of the season?

I guess it was in the back of my mind. It wasn’t my main focus, though. Because I can’t really do much about it.

So you’ve gotten a lot of recognition, like pool records and what not. Are there any goals that you work toward that you have set in mind before each race or meet?

Well, I do have specific goals. Generally I have an early-season, mid-season, and end-of-season goal. But often the middle-season goal is just to make sure that I’m getting best times from the beginning of the season.

What were your overall thoughts about the season?

It was really fun; I enjoyed it. It was a different experience than club swimming. And I like the team.

Different in a good way?

Yup, yup.

When you came into the season, what were your thoughts and goals? And why did you decide to join?

Well, everyone told me that it was a really different experience and a lot of fun, and so that’s why I wanted to join. One of my goals was to make state, and so that was good that I accomplished that.

You’re significantly faster than everyone else on the team. How does that affect how you think in practice and in general?

I just have to push myself in the practices, make them difficult for myself — by putting more effort in, I guess.

How did it feel coming in as a junior who is the age of a freshman? Did that come into play at all?

It was different. I mean, it might have affected me at state a little bit because it was really intimidating being there, and all these girls … I looked really small and scrawny compared to all the rest of them. Because the seniors are like 18, and so they look like they could be in college and I look like I just got into high school. So, I don’t know, it’s kind of intimidating but … it’s still good.

It’s also cool when you beat them.

Yeahhhh! (laughs)

What was your favorite part about the season? Or the most memorable part?

I like just the team and the team atmosphere and just being together that early in the morning.

And dancing!?

And dancing, yes. The dancing is good.

So you and Milee Nelson have swum together a lot before as members of the Champaign County Heat. How was having her on the team this year and being lane buddies?

It was good I had a lane buddy, even though she didn’t appreciate my dancing and singing every morning. I don’t know why! She didn’t like it. She tackled me when I started dancing. Like (long pause) … every time.

What’s your favorite quality about Milee?

She’s good on relays, especially as an anchor. She’s tough, so she’ll charge them down.

What’s the dynamic like between you and Milee at meets?

I don’t really talk to her at meets, because she doesn’t talk to me. I mean, she usually sits there, listens to her iPod or reads a magazine. I don’t know. I’m more talkative at meets, a lot more talkative at meets.

What was it like going to state with Milee?

I don’t know, we didn’t interact that much. We sat together and we warmed up together, but she likes to sit by herself and concentrate on her races.

Do you know at this point if you are going to come back next year?

It depends on how I do this summer, because if I qualify for the national junior team, then I will have a meet in January that I’ll need to be prepared for and a camp in October, so I don’t know if I would be able to do it.

What does the national junior team entail?

The meet in January and the camp in October are pretty much most of it. The meet is cool because there are different countries, and you get to represent the U.S. It’s been in Australia and Maui; it changes every year.

What strokes do you plan on focusing on?

Probably freestyle and backstroke. It’s fun how I can now specialize. I have had every single stroke be my best stroke for a while, but now I think it's finally going to be backstroke and freestyle. I don’t like breaststroke, but butterfly is OK.

Can you talk us through one of your races? Do you think much before a race?

Well, I don’t know that I’m thinking about it all that much. Maybe a couple minutes before I’m thinking about making sure I hit my turns or whatever. And if I have a specific goal then I’ll focus on that, like if I want to have a certain number of underwater kicks off the wall. But I’m not really thinking about anything if I’m stretching out or whatever. I’m just listening to my music and getting pumped up.

So you know how basketball players have a set routine before they shoot free throws? Do you have a certain number of times you run through something before a race?

I know people who do that, but I don’t. I just … whatever feels right.

What’s your favorite part about swimming?

Uhm, I don’t know. I like being in the water. But I like the feeling you get when you accomplish your goals.

What is your favorite event to swim?

Right now I like 100 backstroke; that’s good enough for me.

Are you going to continue that in the club season?

Yeah, that’s probably going to be one of my main events.

Do other people on your club swim team motivate you?

Yeah, there was someone who graduated last year, his name was Chester Dols, and so he was one of the fastest guys on the team, and he did really well at one of the meets, and that was really motivational. It was good.

What about dancing?

No, no dancing. Surprisingly there was a lot more dancing during high school swimming.

Do you have a coach who has really stood out to you, who has really helped you along?

The only coach I’ve had for my entire swimming career is Plaman Alexandrov, and he has a son who went to the Olympics in 2004 and 2008. We’ve had a different head coach pretty much every year that I’ve been swimming. Yeah, we’ve had like six or seven head coaches since I’ve started swimming (laughs). Like they all move away or get different jobs.

Where do you see yourself after high school swimming?

Well I want to swim in college. After that I don’t know.

What colleges are you considering?

One of the main ones I’m looking at right now is Berkeley. UC Berkeley. It’s good. That’s where Natalie Coughlin went. And it’s a strong academic school, and it has a really good swim team, so … I kind of want a balance of good swimming and good academics.

What do you want to study in college?

I don’t really know; I’m not sure yet.

If you weren’t doing swimming, what do you see yourself doing? What do you miss out on the most?

Hanging out with friends, I guess. But I would probably stay busy with other things. I would have probably auditioned for Madrigals and done stuff like that.

Do you ever regret not having more time?

It’d be nice, but I love what I’m doing with swimming.

What does a typical swimming week look like for you when you’re in the middle of your season?

Well I’ll probably go to some morning practices, and then I would practice every night, two hours. And then go to school in there. Homework, sleeping, eating — that kind of thing.

Do you have to plan ahead a lot? With homework and stuff because you’re so busy?

I do. I’m not as good at that as I probably should be, but I try to.

So the past couple of years you have gone to Y Nationals for swimming and had to miss school for that. How do you think that affects you?

It’s hard to catch up after missing a week. I mean, just like if you miss a week if you’re sick. It’s difficult. Last year I did a good job of getting all my homework done — or almost all my homework done — before I left. But it was still difficult, because you miss out on the lectures and stuff.

How was going to nationals?

It’s fun. It’s a fairly relaxed meet, actually, because there’s so much space, it’s Florida, and it’s outdoors. I guess it’s crowded on deck, but when you’re just with the team hanging out there’s a lot of space.

Is swimming outdoors in a meet different from swimming indoors?

Yeah. Well, definitely backstroke is more difficult. I always go side-to-side zig-zagging in the lane because the sun’s in your eyes. It’s really hard to see. So I don’t really like doing backstroke outdoors, but whatever. Haha.

What would your ideal pool situation be?

Oh, I don’t know. I like outdoor meets. I mean you get a nice tan from outdoor meets, especially when you’re wearing like a knee-skin suit, or a leg-skin suit. But I don’t know. I’d be like, lots of deck space and probably indoors so I could do backstroke.

Some music?

Yeah! Dance party music!!

Have you been in pools where they have music underwater?

No — well, at Disney World, but not competition pools. That would be great. Could be like, dancing and singing constantly.

How did you get into swimming?

Well, when I lived in Maryland, my brother did swimming for a team called Fast, and I did gymnastics in the building next door. I was like 3, and you don’t really do much gymnastics when you’re 3, and my gymnastics class was shorter than a swim lesson, so my parents would pick me up, and we’d walk over and watch him swim. So, I wanted to be part of that, and once I started I liked it.

When was the point when you decided that you wanted to focus on swimming?

When I was like 7, I went to the Y state meet. I made it in relays and qualified for 25 butterfly, like barely made the cut, and I did OK. I didn’t make finals, but our relays got to finals. And I wanted to do better next year, and when I went home my dad said, “Today is the first day you begin training for next year’s state meet.” So, I did. And I won the next year.

Did you do any other activities when you were little?

Yes, I did. I did gymnastics. I did a little bit of ice skating; I wasn’t very good at that. I did soccer; I wasn’t very good at that, either. I wasn’t very good at other sports, I guess. I don’t know — gymnastics I might’ve been OK at, but I stopped taking lessons.

So you sing now, right? Did you sing when you were young?

No, I was awful.

Do you have any siblings?

Yes, I have an older brother who graduated from Uni [Robert Boyce, Class of 2007] and a younger sister. … She's 6.

How’s the dynamic with them?

My brother’s in college right now, but I see him on the weekends because he goes to the U of I.

What about your sister? Does she swim?

Yeah, she swam for Windsor this summer, and she’s taking some lessons now. She says she can beat me — like right now. We actually raced, and she beat me at Windsor.

Wonder how that happened.

Well, she’s just pretty fast (laughs).

Does she look up to you?

I guess so, at least as far as swimming. When I go to big meets my parents film me so I can watch the tapes later to see what I need to improve, so we’ll watch those together, and my little sister will see them and will be like, “Oh, I can go faster than that.”

Who is your favorite swimmer?

Ryan Lochte.

Why? Do you think he’s cute?

(jokingly) Oh, you got me. No, I don’t really know why; he is just a really good swimmer. I was really happy when he won 200 backstroke at the Olympics.

Did you follow the Olympics closely this year?

No, not as closely as I would’ve liked to, because we were on vacation. That was the only time we had for vacation because it was right after MegaZones. [MegaZones is a USA Swimming meet; the 2008 event that Boyce competed in was held in Indianapolis Aug. 6-10.] We went to Hawaii, so I didn’t really get a lot of time to watch the Olympics because I was on the beach and stuff. I was able to watch some events. I saw the 400 free relay and Michael Phelps’ 100 butterfly that he won by .01 seconds. I thought he hadn’t won, but then … he did.

Do you hope to go to the Olympics some day?

I do. That would be … amazing. We’ll have to see!

When do you think you would go?

Hopefully I’ll be able to make trials cuts before the next Olympic trials.

Do you have a favorite swim-gear brand?

I like Speedo. They have good suits and goggles.

How many swimsuits do you have?

A lot, actually. I have a lot of racing suits, and then I have like … four practice suits? Five practice suits? I don’t know. But there’s one that I wear most of the time, and then I have backups.

How do you choose your swimsuits?

Whatever I think looks cool and if I think it’s going to be comfortable. And generally I pick the all-polyester one because they last longer.

What hobbies and interests do you have outside of swimming?

I like writing. Writing is good. But I don’t have a lot of time for that with school and swimming. But when I have time I like to write.

What do you like to write?

I guess mostly poems.

About?

(questioning stare)

We're just kidding.

(laughter) About whatever.

What’s your favorite subject?

German.

What do you like about it?

It’s just a fun class, and I’m learning a lot.

Do you like Harry Potter?

Uh, yeah, I do. It’s fun to read. It’s fun to read in German, too.

Do you have any funny stories from German?
Every day is fun, pretty much. Today Neil [junior Neil Pearson] was teacher, and he had a lesson plan for a chapter of Harry Potter. So we played a game called Win, Lose, or Draw, except in German (laughter). And our team almost won … but then we didn’t. We should have won, we definitely should have won.

Do you have any favorite books, movies, TV shows?

Right now I like "When You are Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris. It’s really good. Like last year, everyone was talking about Amy and David Sedaris as writers in Creative Writing, and I’d never read anything by them. And everyone was like, “Oh my God! They’re so fun to read and such great writers!” And then I had never read anything by them, so …

What about movies or TV shows?

Uhm, I don’t know … movies (sad voice). I don’t have a lot of time to go watch movies.

You seem to have a very interesting style. Do you enjoy fashion?

I do. I like watching "Project Runway." It’s a good show.

Do you have a favorite contestant?

Well, my favorite contestant overall was Christian Siriano. He was last season. And this season I really like Leanne Marshall … and she won. And I really did not like Kenley Collins. She was obnoxious. I do a good Kenley Collins impression, apparently.

Can you do it for us?

OK, all right. [Click audio clip at right to listen.] "It’s not my fault I’m obnoxious. I mean I was raised on a boat. And what does Tim Gunn know about hip-hop?"

What's your favorite store?

I don’t know. I went to Urban Outfitters on Black Friday; that was good.

Did you get anything?

I did, I got this vest (points to very stylish black vest).

If you were a sea animal, what would you be?

Otters are fun.

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