March 2, 2013

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BERKELEY -

Feature on Cal senior swimmer Trevor Hoyt, by Taylor Dutch

The NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are underway and the entire stadium is completely silent. Swimmers are set in their blocks and ready to dive into the water, ready to race, waiting for the beep. For two seconds, everyone in the arena stops what they're doing. The beep sounds and a wave of competitors dive into the pool, followed by a fan uproar emerging from all corners of the stadium. For Cal senior Trevor Hoyt, this is the "most real" part of the meet.

"When you have to be quiet for the two seconds that they hold, it's just so hard to do sometimes," said Hoyt with a smile. "Some of us have grip marks on our shoulders because we are gripping onto each other ready to yell."

The excitement generated from watching his teammates compete has helped mold Hoyt into the senior leader he is today.

"Going into this last year that's all I want from my team, to bring that sense of excitement and camaraderie together to get other people going just as hard and just as fast into the meet," said Hoyt.

As a senior on a team that has won two back-to-back NCAA titles, Hoyt has cheered and competed with the best. He is one of seven seniors attempting to guide the No. 2 Cal men to an unprecedented third straight national championship.

As a teammate Hoyt has definitely made his mark at Cal, posting a school record in the 200-breast stroke (1:51.90) at the 2012 NCAA Championships where he finished as the national runner-up. This year Hoyt is primed to make a run for a national title again, and will most likely have a smile on his face while doing it.

"He's never not smiling," head coach David Durden said, "And he's extremely loud so you always know where he is."

When Hoyt's voice travels across the pool, it's usually words of encouragement and enthusiasm to help his fellow teammates. For the past three years, members of Cal's strong breaststroke contingent such as Sean Mahoney, Damir Dugonjic, Nick Ferrif, Martin Liivamagi, and Nolan Koon have mentored Hoyt. As a senior on arguably one of the strongest teams in Cal history, it is now Hoyt's turn to be the mentor.

"We (Hoyt and coach Durden) talked about leading quietly, doing what I need to do in the water, promoting other people to do their best in the water, and leaving certain things up to other seniors because we all have our jobs," said Hoyt. "Mine is to lead the breaststroke group."

As leader of the breaststroke group Hoyt not only leads by example in the pool, but also with his positive enthusiasm.

"When the time comes he (Durden) wants me to be as loud as I can be," said Hoyt. "I'm probably the loudest guy on the team (laughs). Coach is always telling me to use my inside voice so I can't wait to just yell, and yell and yell this year."

There will be plenty of yelling starting this Sunday when the team heads to Federal Way, Washington for the 2013 Pac-12 Swimming Championships (March 3-6). Although Stanford has won the conference title for the past 31 years, the Bears should not be overlooked with their current standing of 7-0 in duel meet competition.

If Cal wins the conference title it will be the first time since 1981. With the championship season about to begin, Hoyt is ready to compete as the best teammate he can be.

"Going into the last year, let's just do it. Everyone is all hyped up, but let's not forget what we're doing, how we're doing it and when we're going to execute everything that our coaches have planned. It will all fall into place when it's supposed to," said Hoyt with a smile.