Feb. 25, 2003

Although Cleveland State senior swimmer Andrew Hancock (Cambridge Gardens, Australia/St. Mary's) has seemingly earned enough individual academic and athletic honors to fill Cleveland State's Robert F. Busbey Natatorium, he has his eyes focused on a bigger prize this week: a Horizon League championship. "The individual accolades are great," said the 2002 Horizon League Swimmer of the Year, "but without a team win you don't get the ring. That's what it's all about."

Hancock, twice named Horizon League Swimmer of the Week this season, believes the Vikings' balance is the key to improving on 2002's second-place tournament finish. "Across all the strokes, all the disciplines, we've got much better competitors," he said. "We know exactly what needs to be done, and we have guys who are willing to make sacrifices for the team." One of the sacrifices Hancock and his teammates won't have to make for this year's Horizon League Championship is travel: CSU hosts the 2003 event from February 26 to March 1.

While Hancock will surely feel "at home" in CSU's Busbey Natatorium-the nation's 6th fastest pool, according to Sports Illustrated-he is also quite familiar with postseason success. In 2002, Hancock captured individual Horizon League titles in the 500 and 1650 freestyle and was also the leadoff swimmer on the Vikings' winning 800 freestyle relay. He also won the 1650 free in the 2001 conference tournament. That year-end success has Hancock anxious to start this week's championship. "Most of us have been in this tournament before, and we have some really good new guys who'll be jumping out of their skin ready to go," he said. "It'll be very exciting."

Hancock's swimming career began in his native Australia, where he was named Most Valuable Swimmer at St. Mary's High School. Because of differences in academic calendars, he finally arrived in Cleveland in January, which was a bit of a shock because January is the middle Australia's summer. "The day before I left I was surfing and sitting on the beach in 100-degree heat, and I got off the plane here just in time for the first big snowfall of the year," he laughed. "I was lucky because I was rooming with a South African guy who came in at the same time, and he was facing the same thing, so we dealt with it together."

Northeastern Ohioans may wonder why Hancock would leave Sydney's sunny beaches for Cleveland's winters, but for Hancock it was an easy decision. "I wanted to study and I wanted to keep swimming, but with the university system at home it would have been impossible," he said. He further explained that Australia does not have organized college athletics, like the NCAA. Athletes "down under" compete with social sport teams or clubs, and Hancock wanted the experience of being a student-athlete in the U.S., just like Grant Turl, his coach and mentor.

Turl's collegiate swimming experience at Louisiana State had a ripple effect on Hancock. "He encouraged me to come here," Hancock said. "He really had a big influence on my life-in swimming and out of the water as well. I was a teenager and he was a young coach, and he had done things I wanted to do."

While being almost 10,000 miles from home may overwhelm most college students, Hancock has plenty of international company on CSU's swim team, which boasts student-athletes from Panama, Brazil, South Africa, Ireland and Sweden, as well as Northeast Ohioans. "The funny thing is that most of us are so similar," observed Hancock. "We're from all over the world, but we have little quirks and slangs that really bring us together culturally. And our love of swimming is like a common language."

Hancock believes that the Vikings' multiculturalism has led to a great learning experience for everyone involved, including the Americans. "A lot of the people I've met here have trouble thinking outside of Ohio, so maybe the Americans on the team get a different perspective." And Hancock knows more than a little bit about learning: he's made the Deans List at CSU every semester since he arrived.

While he appreciates the differences between his native country and Cleveland, Hancock finds them somewhat alike as well. "Cleveland is like a scaled-down version of Sydney," he said. "Australians have this reputation of being hospitable, and that's what I like about Cleveland, because people here are very much the same. I feel a little bit like I'm at home, and it has helped me get into the life of the city here."

In an ironic twist, Hancock missed seeing the Olympic games in Sydney because he was at Cleveland State, while Vikings coach Wally Morton was an official at the Sydney games, rooming with Hancock's parents. "He stayed with my parents and even slept in my bedroom," Hancock laughed. "It's become a bit of a joke with the team-we always say Wally's going to recruit a Greek swimmer next year just so he'll have somewhere to stay for the Athens Olympics."

Hancock plans to return to Australia following his 2004 graduation to pursue a career in finance. But first things first: this week's Horizon League tournament at CSU, and hopefully, championship rings for Hancock and his fellow Vikings.