March 19, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Sister Act

by Keith Peters

They haven't roomed together since they lived under the same roof five years ago in their hometown of Bremerton, Wash.

They don't pal around or hang out at parties together, keeping to their own friends at Stanford University during these past two years. Yet, senior Tara Kirk and her sophomore sister, Dana, probably will be inseparable this weekend at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

"We have a special relationship, obviously, because we're sisters," Tara said.

This will be their final meet together as college teammates. They will swim back to back on the medley relays. Tara will be on the pool deck waiting to race the 100 breaststroke when Dana is swimming the 100 fly, and Dana will compete in the 200 fly only after watching Tara swim the 200 breast.

With their parents, Jeff and Margaret, in the stands, the two will cheer each other on while attempting to accomplish something very special

Tara has won 34 straight college races in the 100 breaststroke. She has yet to lose a final at that distance in four years. She also has won 18 straight races in the 200 breast. She is the American recordholder in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststrokes and holds every record - over short-course yards - in every breaststroke event in this country.

Should Tara win her fourth straight NCAA title in the 100 breast tonight, she will become only the second Stanford women in history to win four consecutive national collegiate titles. The first was Olympian Jenny Thompson in the 100 free from 1992-95.

While Tara is the overwhelming favorite in her races, Dana's task is a bit more daunting. She'll go against Cal senior Natalie Coughlin in the 100 fly and Kaitlin Sandeno of USC in the 200 fly. Coughlin has never lost a 100 fly race in four years and Sandeno, well, is an Olympian.

Tara goes into her events ranked No. 1 in the nation while Dana is No. 2 in both butterflys.

Each of the sisters has their own version of a perfect finish to the weekend.

Said Tara: "It would be 1, 1, 1, 1 (as in first, first, first, first). But, we'll see about that. If Dana beat Natalie, that would be a big deal because Natalie's never lost in her life."

Well, yes, but virtually never on the collegiate level. Her only defeat, according to Stanford head coach Richard Quick, was a loss to Stanford's Shelly Ripple in the 200 fly at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships.

And the dream finish for Dana?

"I'd rather see her (Tara) finish undefeated," she said. "I'd rather see that 34 become a 35."

The perfect finish for the Stanford women, meanwhile, would be a championship ring for each swimmer. The Cardinal, however, will battle just to finish among the top three while Auburn defends its championship in the three-day meet held over short-course meters.

The Kirk sisters are a big reason why Stanford has any chance of improving upon last year's disappointing sixth-place finish. Both swim on the 400 medley relay that ranks No. 2 in the nation this season and on the 200 medley relay that ranks fifth. Tara is favored in both breaststrokes and Dana needs to hold on to those No. 2 positions in both flys, if not pull an upset in one.

Not too surprisingly, the name Kirk will show up a lot this weekend. That's been going on for some time now and has led to much confusion.

"It's Dana and Tara. The A's are in the same place and we look a lot alike," Dana explained. "So, you generally get a lot of people saying 'Dara.' You just combine the names."

Dana recalls a time several years ago when people would come up to her during meets and say" "You swim everything." Then she would have to explain the sister thing.

"A lot of people think we're the same person," Dana said.

When Tara was still in high school, the sisters sat down with a reporter and photographer from Swimming World magazine. Both were surprised when the interview was published.

"They actually switched our names," Dana said. "The whole interview they thought I was Tara."

The mistaken identity popped up again a few years later when Dana was headed for a world championships in Russia.

"They needed pictures for the certification to be on the pool deck," Dana said. "Then they wrote me a note and said 'don't worry about it, we have yours already.' So, I get my certification (credential) and it's a picture of Tara with my name."

Both do look similar. They both have long, brown hair, but Dana stands 5-foot-10 and Tara is 5-6 and more powerfully built while Dana is on the slender side. Their voices are similar enough to fool mom and dad on phone calls.

To alleviate any confusion around the pool, equipment changes were necessary.

"It's pretty cute. We now have D Kirk and T Kirk on our caps to help people," Dana said.

The obvious difference between the two, of course, is in the record book. Tara is already there while Dana has a ways to go to catch up.

When it comes to the breaststroke, Tara has accomplished just about everything on the collegiate level. She holds the Pac-10, Pac-10 meet, NCAA, NCAA meet, U.S. Open and American records for both breaststroke races in yards. The only other female swimmers in this country to accomplish that are Janet Evans (in the 1,650 free), Summer Sanders (in the 400 IM) and Coughlin (in the 100 fly, 100 back and 200 back).

Tara broke her own American record in the 200-yard breast at last month's Pac-10 Championships, clocking in at 2:07.13. She set the current 100 breast U.S. mark of 58.41 at the 2003 Pac-10 meet. She's also a member of the American record-setting (3:31.74) 400-yard medley relay team from 2002.

Tara's streak of 34 straight 100 breast triumphs, however, has taken center stage this season.

"People have been talking about it a lot more this year," Tara said. "I really never paid very much attention to it, but it's in my face. I know how many wins I have. I just have one more to go. It's definitely not going to be easy."

Tara knows how tough going undefeated is. She watched the Stanford men's basketball team lose to Washington on March 6, ending the Cardinal's perfect season after 26 straight triumphs. At this point, it's too late to lose one to remove any pressure.

"Each race, I want to win," Tara said. "If you think way back to my freshman year (and losing then), it would have taken a lot of pressure off. It keeps building on you. I really don't even want to think about it. I just want to race my race."

That will come tonight in the 100 breast finals. On Saturday, Tara will go after her third straight NCAA crown in the 200 breast.

Quick marvels at what Tara has accomplished.

"It's an extraordinary accomplishment," Quick said of the undefeated streak. "She's truly had an astonishing career. She's responded to the challenges. I certainly didn't know she was this good, and certainly not in the 200."

Not after a high school career where Quick said Tara had a unique history.

"Her history in high school was not being able to finish the 100," he said. "Now, she's the American recordholder in the 200. I'd like to say it's great coaching, but it's not. It's her desire to kind of expand her repertoire of excellence. In the process of doing that, she's becoming a better and better long-course swimmer in preparation for the Olympic Games."

Both Kirk sisters will battle for berths on the U.S. Olympic team that competes in the Athens Summer Games in August. The U.S. Olympic swim trials will be held in July in Long Beach. Prior to that, Tara and Dana will room together and train with the Palo Alto Swim Club.

The sisters didn't room together this school year because Dana is "messy" and Tara is "a neat freak." Actually, both are moving toward more middle ground as both have grown up while continuing to grow together.

That togetherness will be very visable this weekend at the NCAA Championships, as Tara Kirk closes out her remarkable college career and Dana Kirk takes those final "handoffs" from her sister. The baton is being passed, but the Kirk era at Stanford is far from over.

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