Ask anyone in the Eastern swimming program about senior Lauren Zillmer and he will tell you she is a competitive person.

The senior from Park Ridge does not hold back, especially on the starting blocks.

“You can tell she’s very competitive,” said Eastern head swimming coach Matt Bos. “It’s nice to see that. She doesn’t shy away from that. That’s the way she goes about racing.”

Zillmer’s competitive drive has taken a turn within the past few weeks and within the past two seasons. She was in the driver’s seat at Delta State’s Tunica Invitational. She won the 50- and 200-yard freestyle and was the anchor in the 400-yard medley relay.

To get to that point was not easy for Zillmer, who is focusing on the small technical aspects of swimming, including starting off the blocks and heading into the turns to gain the most momentum.

“She was able to win a couple of those races because she did those little things before,” Bos said. “It’s one of those things where she’s working hard and having some success with that. It’s already paying off.”

Zillmer credits her success and those training techniques within the past two seasons to Bos.

“Sometimes I wish I had another year with Matt Bos,” she said.

And it’s something Zillmer is grateful for as she closes her career in the final six weeks.

“I never thought my times would be as fast as they would be right now,” she said.

Zillmer said when she was in high school, coaches would tell her she could do it, with different training, but she never believed them.

“But now, I think that’s why I have more faith in myself, because it’s actually happening. And I’m starting to figure out what they were saying.”

Zillmer evaluated Bos’ training and translated it into the pool.

“I feel stronger in my races when I focus on the little things,” she said.

Those little things include taking momentum into the wall, constantly practicing starting off the blocks, keeping a streamline off flip turns and controlling her breathing.

“Where she was having trouble in was the last couple of strokes,” Bos said. “Her timing was off a little bit. She was losing a little momentum going into the wall.”

That changed within the past few weeks, and Zillmer, along with the rest of the team, noticed those changes right away.

“I remembered it during my races, just the little things adding up and I ended up touching people out of it,” she said.

Delta State’s Tunica Invitational happened to be an example of change within the program. The swimming programs usually train in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then the teams rest until a dual meet.

Bos, in his second season, added the two-day meet, which prepares people for the Summit League Championships and tests people to compete when they are tired after intense workouts.

“It’s a good sign because we were coming off 12 days of hard training,” Bos said. “Physically, her body was broken down. Mentally, she was exhausted. For her to swim the way she did, it was very positive.”

For the senior, she adapted to different techniques from Bos’ instruction, something that also started at the beginning of the season.

“Right away, I started swimming with the boys,” Zillmer said. “They always try to work really hard, and I try to keep up with them, so that motivated me a lot.”

This coaching practice came from Bos.

“Right away from the beginning, he’s like, ‘You don’t need to go on the slower (interval). You can do this faster one,'” she said. “I just knew it would benefit in the long run. (Guys) do swim a lot faster than girls do. Keeping up with them is a challenge. I like having a challenge in practice.”

The relationship between the two has made Zillmer a better swimmer this season, even after earning Second Team honors from the Summit League last season.

“If he thinks I can do it, then I think I can do it,” she said. “I feel a lot stronger than I’m used to. I feel really good all the time.”

Kevin Murphy can be reached at 581-7944

or [email protected]