SHE WANTS TO RETURN TO THE FAST LANE: GETTING BACK IN THE SWIM STEFANEC HOPING TO RECAPTURE TOP FORM.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

Annie Stefanec went from swimming in the fast lane to being a fish out of water in less than three months. Or at least that's how the Notre Dame High of Sherman Oaks sophomore recounts the events of last summer.

To Stefanec's coaches, teammates, friends and family members, the scenario didn't seem that drastic. To the 15-year-old standout, it was the toughest experience of her young career.

Stefanec was thrust into the spotlight last May when she clocked 56.74 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke - the fastest time by a high school freshman in the state and third among all ninth-graders nationally - en route to a third-place finish at the Southern Section Div. I championships at Belmont Plaza in Long Beach.

Stefanec followed that effort with three top 12-finishes at the Speedo Grand Challenge - the start of the summer long-course season - boosting her confidence to an all-time high.

``Last year was a big year, it was a breakthrough year for her,'' said Jeff Thornton, who, along with Stacy Smith, coaches Stefanec on the San Fernando Valley-based CCAT club team. ``She had worked real hard and everything was coming together really well, but then she got sick right at the start of nationals.''

Stefanec was hoping to conclude the summer long-course season the same way she started, only to be slowed by a 100-degree fever in August, which contributed to a last-place finish in the prelims of the 100-meter freestyle at the Speedo Junior Nationals. As a result, Stefanec left the William Woollett Jr. Aquatic Complex in Irvine fatigued and with her confidence shaken.

After months of intense physical training and emotional growth, Stefanec is ready to re-emerge on the national stage when she competes in the USA Swimming Spring Championships, beginning March 28 in Federal Way, Wash.

``(The experience of Junior Nationals) has helped me grow and it's helped give me so much more of a rush to do well,'' said Stefanec, who will be joined at the four-day competition by Crespi of Encino senior Patrick Simpkins. ``It's re-organized things in my head and it's pushed me to do better.''

For someone who has been competing in Catholic Youth leagues since the first grade and been a year-round swimmer under the guidance of Smith and Thornton for more than seven years, it wouldn't appear that one disappointing meet would be the cause for so much concern.

For Stefanec, it forced her to return to square one with several aspects of her training, especially in the backstroke.

``After I got sick, for some reason my body forgot how to backstroke,'' said Stefanec, one of only three area females to go under a minute in the backstroke last season. ``It's just been a process of re-learning how to grab the water and pull it through and keep kicking at a consistent pace.''

Along with being subjected to the most demanding training of her life - both in the water and with dry-land weightlifting - in preparation for nationals, Stefanec has also focused on becoming mentally stronger in an attempt to handle adversity better.

``She's grown a lot, maturity-wise,'' Thornton said. ``We just need to stay focused on getting her going in the right direction. I've still got to work on her confidence a little, but she's made a lot of progress.''

Stefanec showed tremendous progress in the pool in January at the Martin D. Inkmann `Q' meet at Belmont Plaza, setting five CCAT age-group records and two overall club marks, despite not being tapered for the four-day competition.

``To see those times made me really excited,'' said Stefanec, who competed at the California-Nevada Spring Sectionals less than two weeks ago in her final tuneup before the national meet. ``I can't wait to see how things go at this meet. Hopefully, I'm capable of doing so much more.''

Said Simpkins, who is seeking an Olympic Trials cut in the 200-meter butterfly: ``Our coaches always tell us, 'It's not what you put into the taper, it's what you put in long before that.' ''

The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center - site of the spring nationals - is considered one of the fastest pools in the country, having hosted the event three times before, in addition to the 1990 Goodwill Games.

Stefanec believes it could be the perfect setting for her to gain a much- needed measure of redemption.

``This is my opportunity to re-show myself, to prove that I can do it,'' Stefanec said. ``I've been training harder than ever before and I'm hoping with this meet that I can show I'm still here, that I'm still part of this and I'm ready to compete.''

After training through the recent sectional meet, Thornton believes that a tapered Stefanec could produce similar magic to what she did last May at the Div. I finals.

``I knew she was going to go that fast because she was going 58 (seconds) in practice the week before,'' he said. ``That's what I'm looking for again this week. I'm hoping we can have that pop (at nationals) and keep it going the whole way until May (at the Div. I finals and Masters Meet).''

Erik Boal, [phone]

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com

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Notre Dame High swimmer Annie Stefanec is trying to regain her form after a disappointing performance at the Speedo Juninor Nationals last August.

Alex Collins/Special to the Daily News