To the editor:

I have felt disappointment as I have read about the "deficiencies of our swimming and diving program" at Syracuse University.

Look no further than the dean's lists, the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, the Big East Academic All-Stars, or the several awards, including the Soladay award, to see extraordinary scholar athletes.

Alida DiPlacido won Big East Diver of the Year, Luk Boral won the Soladay award, and 22 of us made the Big East Academic All-Star team. I received the Robert Barlow award for athletic and academic excellence.

The local community needs to know how hard we work at Syracuse both in and out of the pool, and the community service we do. Practice is 20 hours a week, at 6 a.m. and between classes in the afternoon. We take full schedules and meet the requirements of the university for our academics.

We know we are extraordinary. Few teams can boast the commitment and team support that a coed team like swimming has. Those that understand swimming know it isn't about just winning a championship, which it seems has become the only benefit of sports at SU.

It is about a personal-best time, about being on a relay team, about scoring points for your team, and knowing that you are excelling at the sport you have chosen.

It is unfortunatethat all of this has been cast aside by wanting to cut the program. Very few teams as a whole make NCAA swimming championships. The NCAAs have the fastest cut times in the world, faster than the Olympic Trials. Swimmers on our team have succeeded in going to the NCAAs and the Olympics and sustained extraordinary academic careers.

I was the Massachusetts state champion in the 50 freestyle two years in a row. My team won the state title three years in a row. I was the 2004 Boston Globe Swimmer of the Year. This was because of all of the hard work and commitment I put into swimming for 13 years.

I was accepted to USC, and I would have been a walk-on there. I turned down Carnegie Mellon, a program where I would be swimming at a Division III championship level already. I did this because I wanted to go to Syracuse. There is no reason that would ever justify casting aside all of those years of hard work for me and my teammates. I am a large contributor at our dual meets and the Big East. I continue to strive to swim my best and fastest.

My dad's family is from Baldwinsville, and my mom is from Saranac Lake. My relatives live in New York. We know the traditions and history of the area and know swimming is an integral part of this community. I know there will be thousands of swimmers in Central New York who will be looking for a private university such as Syracuse. Why cut a program that consistently draws in both athletically and academically talented people?

Swimming is aboutcharacter, integrity, sportsmanship, history and tradition. Not the pool. We don't need a $40 million facility. The pool in Archbold Gym was state-of-the-art when it was built. It was adequate enough for Ted Webster to teach a famous SU football player how to swim so he could graduate.

After the Titanic sank, learning how to swim became a graduation requirement at many colleges. Coach Webster took it upon himself to teach this student one-on-one so that he could graduate. This was Ernie Davis.

Unfortunately, in the end, this will be about the money. We hope that during the next year we can find a way to work with Syracuse to keep the program, and also let them start the women's hockey team. We all feel that this is the right thing for Syracuse University to do.