Amherst freshman and Pacific Palisades native Allison Merz wasn’t even sure if she would swim in college. Ultimately, she did and the results were fairly impressive: Merz represented Amherst at the Division III NCAA Championships in March, where she placed eighth in the 400-yard medley relay and 13th in the 100-yard butterfly. Along the way, she set two school records in the 50- and 100-yard butterfly. But it wasn’t as though Merz set out to become the fastest fly sprinter in school history. Quite the contrary, she ultimately decided to attend Amherst primarily because the small, liberal arts school in Massachusetts was what she wanted in terms of a college experience. Once she decided to swim as a freshman, her main focus was on making it through the entire season, after she struggled with shoulder issues for years while swimming at Harvard-Westlake. ’It really wasn’t on my radar,’ Merz said of the records. ‘I had an attitude that I just wanted to keep training to avoid injury and do the best I could to do that. I really had no expectations for the season, and surpassed anything I could have imagined. Things really could not have gone any better.’ And by all accounts, outside of the pool, things have gone just as well for Merz. Though the college transition is tough for any freshman’not to mention the shift from West Coast to East’she’s taking it in stride, buoyed in part by the support of the swim team. ’I’m such a beach bum, so New England is definitely different than what I’m used to,’ she said. ‘But being on the team has made the adjustment a lot easier, helping you dig into a new place. It’s really nice to have an automatic peer group of people, who knew you before. And as soon as we started practicing, it gives you something familiar.’ Not to say this made the transition from year-round swimming practice to the intense, five-month practice schedule of Division III any easier. After two months of practice led by the team’s captains in September and October, the rigorous, official practice schedule led by coaches kicked off on November 1’and Merz instantly felt the effects. ’It was like getting hit by a bus,’ she said, laughing. ‘When the season starts, you have to be so motivated and focused, it’s so different. You have five months to get everything down, and every practice counts so much more.’ With just a few weeks before finals and the end of her first year, Merz sounded grateful for all she accomplished, but without any expectation of what the years ahead may hold. And for those thinking her early feats might suggest future success at nationals in the years ahead at Amherst, she was decidedly more cautious. She seems to be quite content to keep swimming, give her best effort and let the chips fall where they may. ’I’m just taking things as they come,’ Merz said. ‘In terms of winning nationals, I can tell you it won’t happen. D-III is getting increasingly popular among swimmers, especially because if you swim D-I, it will take over your life. People are realizing you can get same caliber of training and competition in D-III, and in the spring, you can do whatever you want. We keep swimming and working out now, but it’s not mandatory. ’Every year, it’s harder to get into NCAAs, so if I’m even able to make it again, that would be awesome. I’m just going to keep working hard and if I can match my time, that would be great.’ For the summer, Merz will move back into her family’s house in the Highlands, work as an intern at Cedars-Sinai and likely swim for the Southern California Aquatics masters team’where she’ll get the welcomed chance to start swimming outdoors again. ’I’m ready for the beach,’ she said. ‘The warmth and weather of home, it’s going to be so nice.’ Allison’s parents are Rob and Noel; she has two older sisters, Alexa (23) and Caroline (22). Alexa, who swam at Stanford, is in her first year of medical school at UCLA. Meanwhile, Caroline, a competitive fencer, attends Princeton.
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