The Red & Black

Assistant Georgia swim coach Harvey Humphries called her a miracle. Junior breaststroker Kristy Kowal called her incredible. Now the rest of the
collegiate swimming world can call her an NCAA champion.
Senior Julie Varozza, who had finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle on Thursday evening, helped lead Georgia to its national title when she snared first place in the 1,650 freestyle on Saturday night at Gabrielsen Natatorium.
But what amazed coaches and teammates was the fact Varozza made such a huge splash after she had been sidelined for much of the year with mononucleosis.
"Before I got mono, I looked at my past three years, and this was all I wanted going out," said Varozza, a native of Los Gatos, Calif. "Before my race, I was really nervous, but I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to end on a bad note.’ I didn’t want to let down the team."
Kowal, the national swimmer of the year, said she was amazed after Varozza’s pool record-breaking swim.
"Swimming is a really honest sport," Kowal said. "If you don’t put the training in, you’re not going to do (well). Julie had very little training, so I don’t know how she did it. She got mono towards the middle of the year, and she overcame that in one season. I really admire her."
Head coach Jack Bauerle said Varozza was an inspiration to the team at the same exact time the team needed to be jump-started.
"Julie just lifted us up," said Bauerle, the national coach of the year. "We didn’t even take her up with us to a meet until (Jan. 30 at) Tennessee. But today she was inspiring. Her swim lifted the team to a whole new height."
Unfortunately for Varozza, most of the rest of her season was non-existent because of her illness. And in fact, Varozza
was unable to travel to Lexington, Ky., to defend her 1,650 freestyle SEC title.
"I was really disappointed because I wanted that title," Varozza said. "But, I knew
(training) that week was
really crucial to this weekend. I knew if I had a chance to do well this week, I didn’t have to go to SECs. I’d rather give that up than give up an NCAA title."
Varozza’s sacrifices paid off when the 1,650 freestyle began. Varozza, a notoriously fast starter, predictably sped out ahead of the rest of the field. Arizona’s two-time defending 1,650 champion Trina Jackson and Kentucky’s Rachel Komisarz gave chase but to no avail.
And Georgia freshman Ashley Whitney, who finished eighth in the event,
barelyavoided being lapped by Varozza as the senior swimming in her last collegiate race broke the 16-minute barrier for her
first time ever with a 15:59.66.
Put plainly and simply, Humphries said, "We just had
a miracle-worker in Varozza."