Killer Whales unbeaten

NEWPORT BEACH — Avoiding the pool is difficult for Mary Flynn. She lives so close to the Newport Hills pool that someone said she could dive into it Saturday.

Flynn laughed, and her game face wore off while the Newport Hills Killer Whales beat Pacific Sands of Huntington Beach, 874-326, in a South Coast Swim Conference dual meet.

Flynn just graduated from Mater Dei and will attend the University of Notre Dame. She could have easily taken the summer off, but the program’s four coaches — Michelle Dienzo, Katina Economides, Jesse Briggs and Duke Krautim — and the kids drew her back for her final summer with the Killer Whales (5-0).

It doesn’t hurt that the pool is seconds away from home.

“This is why I love swimming,” she said. “I walk to work.”

Setting records in the 100-yard individual medley seemed just as easy. For the third time this season in the 15-18 age group, she broke her own mark. The time, 1 minute, 4.57 seconds, beat the closest competitor by almost a second. It added to an already impressive day in which she claimed three other top finishes (50 butterfly, 200 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay).

The big honor came afterward. Miranda Cyr, 8, gave Flynn a charm bracelet that spelled “MARY YOU ROCK.”

“I love her,” said Cyr, who was a part of Newport Hills’ second-place 100 medley relay team. “I want to be fast like her.”

Increasing speed and skill is up to the former standout swimmers turned coaches. Newport Hills has one more meet left before the finals at El Toro High.

Briggs said this is the year the Killer Whales win their first crown since 1994.

Dienzo swam at UC Irvine and set the 100 freestyle school record before graduating in 1999. It’s been broken since, but her commitment to the sport hasn’t. She recruited other coaches with UCI ties to help the club.

“When I come here, it brings back the fundamentals of swimming,” said Dienzo, who coached Economides, a 2006 graduate, and Krautim, who has one more quarter left, at UCI. “When you’re coaching older kids, you’re just tweaking the little techniques, and it’s more of a mental aspect part of coaching. This is a blast.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.