For Bloch, tennis' loss was swimming's gain

By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer

Maui's Cheyne Bloch gave up playing tennis as a youth and became a standout swimmer at Baldwin High School and a four-time All-American at the University of Hawai'i. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Growing up on Maui, the 10-year-old Bloch melted under the blistering Lahaina sun and wound up trading his tennis racket for swimming trunks as a way to beat the heat.

"I wanted to quit tennis, but my mom (Lori) said I couldn't quit tennis until I found a different sport," Bloch said. "There was a pool that just opened up down by our house, so I went down to check it out and I ended up signing up for the swim team on the opening day." Since then, Bloch, 21, has emerged as one of the best homegrown swimmers in Hawai'i history, and has become the cornerstone of the 20th-ranked men's swimming team.

"He's the first blue-chip athlete from the state of Hawai'i who's stayed with the program all four years," said coach Mike Anderson, who is entering his third season at UH. "For our swimming program to get Cheyne off the bat and retain him as a scholar-athlete, it makes big inroads for our recruiting in the state, which is very important to us."

Bloch was one of the state's most highly recruited swimmers after his award-winning career at Baldwin High School, where he helped the Bears dethrone Punahou for the boys swimming championship in 2000. Prior to that, Punahou had won 38 of 42 previous state titles.

Cheyne Bloch inspires his UH teammates. "He gets you motivated and makes you work hard because he works hard," says Hugo Duran. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Bloch called the 2000 state championship the fulfillment of a three-year goal.

"We lost to (Hawai'i Preparatory Academy) in my sophomore year," Bloch said. "My junior year we ended up losing to Punahou (by a half-point). Finally, when we won in 2000, it was just icing on the cake."

Success carried over to UH. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior captain has earned four All-America awards, broken three individual UH records and inspired a countless number of teammates with his triumphs and work ethic. The top eight swimmers at the NCAA championships earn All-America honors, and swimmers who finish 9th to 16th earn Honorable All-America honors.

"He gets you motivated and makes you work hard because he works hard," said Hugo Duran, a UH junior freestyle swimmer. "If you see somebody who gets so many (positive) results like Cheyne does, you kind of want to do the same."

"He puts full effort in everything he does," said roommate Peter McVey, a sophomore butterfly and individual medley swimmer "I would definitely choose him as a team leader, not just because he's fast, but he seems to pull everyone together."

CHEYNE BLOCH • Height: 6-4 • Weight: 195 • Class: Senior • Hometown: Wailuku, Maui • Birthdate: Feb. 25, 1982 • Accomplishments: Four-time NCAA All-American, 2003 National Independent Conference Swimmer of the Year, 2003 College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-American (3.60 GPA), three-time UH Scholar-Athlete. • Career bests (all UH records): 100-yard breaststroke (53.92), 200-yard breaststroke (1:56.64), 200-yard individual medley (1:46.43), 200-yard medley relay (1:28.56, breaststroke leg), 400-yard medley relay (3:14.98, breaststroke leg), 800-yard freestyle relay (6:30.49).

"Breaststroke was kind of always my stroke," he said. "When I first started swimming, I had a natural breaststroke kick. It just kind of stuck with me."

Anderson said Bloch has greatly improved since his freshman year.

"He's dropped another 3 1/2 to 4 seconds in his 100 (breaststroke), which is like 3 to 4 seconds in a 400-meter run; that's highly significant," Anderson said. "In his 200 (breaststroke), he's dropped about 5 seconds. That's equal to about dropping 5 seconds in an 800-meter run."

Bloch said he wants to improve his times at the NCAA championships and also wants a shot at the Olympic trials.

As for school, Bloch said he plans to graduate with a business marketing degree in the spring of 2005. A 2003 College Swimming Coaches Association of America Academic All-American with a 3.60 GPA, he also said he plans to go to graduate school and add another major.

Eventually, Bloch said he aspires to enter movie marketing for "big production films." Bloch's uncle, David Ellis, is a movie producer and has overseen such films as Homeward Bound 2 and Final Destination 2.

In the meantime, Bloch said he's focused on his pool work.

"I just try to get the job done here in the pool and try to represent Hawai'i," Bloch said. "I'm local born and there hasn't been too many local swimmers — at least not for a while — that have come out of UH. I'm just trying to get the legacy started again."

Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2458.