CSA CREAM RISES TO TOP IN POOL COACH HAS TEAM FILLED WITH TALENT.

Byline: J.J. Bowman Special to the Daily News

Most of the noise during summer afternoons at the Rancho Simi pool comes from the shallow end. Children splashing about, lifeguards making their rounds and parents lounging poolside provide the noticeable excitement.

Once the sun begins to set behind the nearby hills and the noise from the shallow end tapers off, the quiet determination of Conejo Simi Aquatics' elite swimmers becomes evident.

The top swimmers at CSA have worked 20 hours per week this summer at the Rancho Simi pool for a shot at the Junior National Swimming Championships, which begin Monday in Palo Alto.

CSA modified its program last September to create a group solely for its most dedicated and talented swimmers. Coach Paul Davidson attributes the camaraderie and teamwork fostered in that ``high performance'' group as the chief reason why CSA will send more swimmers to junior nationals, 14, than it has since Davidson took over the program eight years ago.

``I have never been happier coaching than with the group I have now,'' Davidson said.

Leah Tourtellotte, an eight-year veteran of CSA, explained the difference between the high performance group and the less intense ``senior'' group.

``The older swimmers that aren't committed enough or aren't hard core enough (are in) the senior group,'' she said.

Although the top swimmers separate themselves from their CSA teammates during practice, Davidson said they are by no means isolated.

``They are role models for the younger kids and they support the younger kids,'' he said.

Tourtellotte, who will attend Cornell in the fall, qualified for the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle, 100 backstroke, 50 and 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley and relays for Junior Nationals.

Tourtellotte joins her twin brother, Joel, Justin Burdine, Genie Cheng, Kevin Cabriales, Shannon McCarthy and Jesse Marin as CSA's oldest swimmers at Junior Nationals.

Joel Tourtellotte said his twin sister's success was a motivating factor for him - particularly when Leah qualified for Junior Nationals before he did.

``She beat me by a season,'' he said. ``I was home with my mom and dad as she competed.'' That feeling, he said, was enough to motivate him to qualify for the Junior Nationals in March.

Joel Tourtellotte will compete in the 200 and 400 individual medley, 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle and relays.

The swimmers follow the trail of CSA standout Kara Denby, who competed in the U.S. Olympic Swim Trials in Long Beach. She also finished fourth in the 100 freestyle at the U.S. National Championships this week.

``Kara helped me a lot - she's inspiring,'' Emily Bibb said. ``I saw how far she went and I was like, `Maybe I can do that.' ''

Bibb, 15, has already experienced Junior National competition. She will compete in the 50, 100, 200 and 400 freestyle as well as the relays this week.

Ron Ross, the president of the board at CSA, said Davidson's program has created a system in which the older swimmers aid the younger talent.

``When you have kids that begin to swim that fast, other kids want to do the same thing,'' he said. ``They see something they want to go get (and) they'll work their butts off to go get it.''

Ross had two children who went through CSA. The second, Kristine, left the program five years ago, but Ross said he stayed with CSA to ensure that Davidson would be able achieve his goal of increasing the team's talent.

``The coach has to be the kind of guy who gets the kids doing things they never thought they could do,'' Ross said. ``He's the kind of guy that brings a lot of average kids a long way.''

Davidson now has younger talent to take charge in the next couple of years. Vanda Gyuris, 16, Aislinn Smalling, 14, and Bibb will compete in individual events at Junior Nationals. Laura DeCesare, 15, Brittany Day, 16, and Alex Sullivan, 14, will compete in the relays.

Regardless of the age differences, Davidson said his swimmers are unified as a team.

``On a day to day basis when the practices are demanding and people are tired ... they have each other to fall back on,'' He said.

``We all feed off each other,'' Burdine said.

Burdine qualified for the Junior Nationals in March but caught pneumonia and could not attend. This will be his first Junior Nationals, and he will compete in the 50 and 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly and relays. He drives 45 minutes from his home in Camarillo to attend morning and afternoon practices.

``It's a small price to pay to swim fast,'' said Burdine, who credits his success to Davidson.

Gyuris will compete in the 50, 100, 200, and 400 freestyle, the 50, 100 and 200 butterfly and relays. She missed practice time recently with the flu but said she believes she will be ready in Palo Alto.

``All that training from the last two months will carry over,'' she said. ``It's not like I lost that or anything.''

Still, Gyuris understands she has ground to make up.

``The hard thing about swimming is that you're training so much but even if you take three days off you feel like, `Well, I'm really out of shape,' '' she said.

Davidson said he does not have to worry about his top swimmers taking extra time for leisure.

``It takes nothing to pull this group together,'' he said.

Davidson does not have to worry about his swimmers losing focus as their peers splash away their summer at the other end of the pool.

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Photo:

From left, Vanda Gyuris, Joel Tourtellotte, Leah Tourtellotte, Justin Burdine and Emily Bibb will represent Conejo Simi Aquatics at the Junior Nationals.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer