There are noises in sports that every spectator dreads. No well-intentioned fan or athlete enjoys hearing the crunch of a fractured wrist, the pop of a dislocated shoulder or the nervous silence after a teammate goes down. For Massachusetts swimming captain Christa Narus, however, it was one of these moments that helped transform a nine-year old gymnast into one of the elite varsity swimmers in UMass history.

Call it a Cinderella clich’eacute;, or a blessing in disguise. True to the blue-collar grit of her sport, Narus sticks to basics in naming the gymnastics fluke ‘- the beginning of her swimming career.

‘I started swimming and I got into it, stayed with it,’ recalled the Smithtown, N.Y. native. ‘I was doing a routine on the uneven bars and I fell and shattered my elbow.’

The rest of the 2-time All-Conference flyer’s fated path to UMass was forged by a collaborative effort between head coach Bob Newcomb and Tim Kenney, associate athletic director.

Much like this year’s recruiting process of high school All-American diver Jason Cook, Narus’ arrival in Amherst was a tight-knit ordeal. Cook is said to have signed on thanks to longtime mentor and current diving coach Mandy Hixon. Likewise, Kenney was an early coach of Narus, who calls the athletics administrator, ‘a family friend.’

‘[Kenney] just said ‘You’ve gotta look at this kid,” Newcomb remembers. ‘I said ‘Great, good [butter]flyer.’ We were looking for a flyer, she came in, and I’ve just been more impressed with her every year and every opportunity. I thank Tim for starting up that recruiting process.’

According to Narus, however, it was also Newcomb’s competitive yet approachable demeanor that sealed the deal.

‘Bob had the intensity and the good heart that I was looking for in a coach,’ she says. ‘He’s very open to suggestions and open to listening to you. As long as you listen to him and he listens to you ‘hellip; I felt like it was going to work.’

As an All-American and four-time All-New York flyer at Ward Melville High School, Narus likely had her choice of schools to swim for. Five years later, after being named the Minutewomen’s Rookie of the Year at the conclusion of the 2005-2006 season, she currently holds three school records and the amount keeps going up.

‘I’m really excited to see where she finishes up her career and just how fast she’s going to be able to go.’ Newcomb said.

The final showcase the 25-year coaching veteran may be alluding to is this year’s Atlantic 10 finals in Buffalo, N.Y. In the past, Narus has thrived at the annual Flickinger Aquatics Center competition, capturing second-place in the 200 fly and helping the 800 freestyle medley team to a top ten finish during last year’s events.

In essence, Narus’ list of career accomplishments thus far is so dense and consistent, it’s tough to read from beginning to end.

Her favorite UMass swimming moment? The 5-foot-6 swimmer had to pause and reflect for a moment.

‘That’s a tough one,’ she said.‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘

At the beginning of this season, Narus seemed to have settled comfortably into the No. 1 position in the UMass record books for both the 100 fly (1:51.95) and 200 fly (2:03.14). This past November, however, she broke two school records in one day at the Boston University Invitational. The catch was one of those records was her own.

Improving her previous 100 fly time from 1:51.95 to 1:51.77 and ousting former captain Liz Lovejoy’s 200 fly finish Nov. 23 at BU’s Competition Pool, Narus has etched herself into UMass swimming lore.

‘She’s just been getting better every year,’ said Newcomb. ‘She leads by example in the water, she leads by example through words, she leads through actions in races. Watching her as she’s developed over the four years has just been amazing.’

In one of the most physically demanding, high attrition sports out there, the climb to the top from scrawny freshman to respected captain may be best described as an enjoyable grind.

‘You know, it’s a roller coaster,’ Narus admits. ‘You have your days when it’s just like, ‘I don’t want to get in the pool.’ But you know that when you have to get in, the team follows you. I like it.’

Newcomb agrees.

‘The team has that certain respect for an individual,’ he said. ‘When she says, ‘Hey girls i
t’s time to go, let’s start pushing,’ trying to get the team up that way. The team looks at it and they say ‘Hey, there’s a leader that’s getting us going and hey, I’m tired too but we’ve got to get up and go.’ That’s the kind of thing that a good leader will do.’

For arguably the best flyer in recent UMass history, all it took was a shattered elbow and solid character.

Holly J. Galvin can be reached at hgalvin@student.umass.edu.