SWIMMING NOTEBOOK: CLEVELAND STAYS FOCUSED.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

Although the Cleveland High of Reseda girls' swim team is the defending City Section champion, the Cavaliers are trying to approach each competition with the same motivation and purpose it demonstrated last season en route to winning its first title.

Cleveland coach Teresa Frias does her best to downplay discussion of a repeat or talk that the Cavaliers are defending their title. She won't let her swimmer rest on their performances at last season's finals, instead trying to guide the team through West Valley League competition undefeated, then attempting to win another section title.

``Last year was last year,'' said Frias, whose girls' and boys' teams improved to 4-0 (3-0 in league meets) with convincing victories Monday over visiting El Camino Real of Woodland Hills. ``It takes a lot of hard work and desire, and just because we won last year, nothing's a given. Everybody's after us now.''

The Cavaliers appear to be dealing with the pressure and expectations with three dual meets remaining, including a potential first-place showdown April 14 at Birmingham of Lake Balboa (4-0, 3-0).

Cleveland posted a 111-74 victory over El Camino Real - which finished third in the City last season - winning the 200-yard medley and freestyle relays, along with two individual victories from Chungah Rhee (200 individual medley, 500 freestyle) and one each from Tracy Puretz and Caroline Sheehan.

``I'm happy with where they're at at this point of the season,'' said Frias, whose team scored 249 points at last season's City final, finishing ahead of Palisades of Pacific Palisades (230) and El Camino Real (183). ``I knew ECR would be tough, but (my girls) stepped up, and I'm happy with the performance. This is a midseason indication of where we're at and where we need to go in five or six weeks.''

--Under the radar: With its 131-55 victory Monday over El Camino Real, the Cleveland boys' team - which finished fourth in the City last season and has beaten third-place Granada Hills this season - is serving notice it could be a legitimate contender for the section title.

Frias believes her boys' team is similar to her title-winning girls' group of last season, relying on a few frontline performers and a lot of depth to score points in every event.

``The best thing the guys have working for them is that everybody remembers the girls' team from last year, not the guys,'' she said.

Sophomore Michael Chiu, the defending City champion in the 100 backstroke, says watching the girls' team win the championship last season has provided the boys' team plenty of motivation this season.

``We want to show that we can do it, too,'' said Chiu, who won the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley Monday. ``We're getting closer and closer every week. A big part of why the girls' team won was their depth. This year we have that (kind of) depth.''

Chiu won the backstroke title by more than a half-second over Van Nuys' Daniel Kim last season. He cruised to victory Monday in 57.3 seconds and says he's ready for a big second half of the season.

``I'm feeling OK,'' said Chiu, who won last year in 55.41. ``I'm not where I want to be, but I'm getting there.''

--A true team player: Jessica Chen is the only local City Section athlete who won two individual titles last season. And following convincing victories in the 50 and 100 freestyle events Monday, the El Camino Real senior doesn't appear to be slowing down.

Chen was more focused on getting her team up to a level where it can challenge Palisades, Cleveland and Venice for the section title in May.

``Some people had been slacking off, so we just brought up 10 girls from the frosh/soph level for the meet, and you could tell they were inexperienced,'' said Chen, who won the 50 in 25.2 seconds and the 100 in 55.5. ``If they can continue to improve, that will only help our chances. I'm more focused on winning City (as a team), so I'm giving them tips so they can help us out.''

Chen won the 50 freestyle last season in 24.58 and the 100 backstroke in 1:02.28, and she knows she's capable of matching or bettering those marks in the next six weeks.

``I know I can do better,'' she said. ``This is a dual meet, not the City meet. I'm still working hard (to reach my goals).''

--Patriots are game: Cleveland knows the road to another West Valley League title won't be an easy one, especially with upstart Birmingham still on the schedule.

Should the Patriots get by Kennedy of Granada Hills on Monday, the April 18 matchup between host Birmingham and Cleveland would likely be for the boys' and girls' titles.

Bobby Loo, Jake Faber, John Schaefer-Sommerville and Victor Vento have been carrying the Birmingham boys. Katherine Burgueno and Jacqueline Zuniga, both sophomores, have led the girls' team.

Erik Boal, [phone]

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com

BOYS' TOP 10

1. Hart (3-0)

2. La Canada (2-1)

3. Crescenta Valley (4-0)

4. Thousand Oaks (4-0)

5. Harvard-Westlake (2-0)

6. Oaks Christian (5-0)

7. Canyon (5-0)

8. Royal (3-1)

9. Valencia (4-2)

10. Burbank (5-1)

GIRLS' TOP 10

1. Harvard-Westlake (2-0)

2. Thousand Oaks (4-0)

3. Crescenta Valley (4-0)

4. Hart (2-0)

5. Westlake (3-1)

6. Alemany (4-1)

7. Royal (2-1)

8. Saugus (4-3)

9. Valencia (6-0)

10. Calabasas (2-1)

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

Chungah Rhee won two events Monday as Cleveland beat El Camino Real to improve to 4-0 overall in girls' swimming.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) BOYS' TOP 10 (see text)

(2) GIRLS' TOP 10 (see text)