Last fall the Saratoga resident accepted a scholarship offer from Stanford University, and last month she earned All-America status in four events while leading Archbishop Mitty High School's girls swimming team to its third straight Central Coast Section championship.

Considering her recent graduation from Mitty and all of the senior activities, it's no surprise to learn that Liu will spend a week in Long Beach this summer. Makes sense—some rest and relaxation before starting the rigors of a big-time college student-athlete in September.

No rest for the weary, though. Liu is heading to Southern California on a business trip—the business of competing against the nation's best at the United States Olympic Trials.

Liu is one of six De Anza Cupertino Aquatics athletes who will try to win berths on the team that will represent the U.S. at the Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, according to Tori Eubanks, a DACA coach. Liu, a member of the 2002 U.S. Junior National Team and a qualifier for the 2000 Olympic Trials, has qualified for the 100-meter and 200 breaststroke events at this year's trials July 7­14 in Long Beach.

"Erica is an outstanding breaststroker and an extraordinary swimmer," praised Stanford coach Richard Quick back in November when he announced that Liu was one of seven athletes that would join his program for the 2004­05 season.

Liu, who has been a finalist at the U.S. Senior Nationals four times while competing for DACA and coach Pete Raykovich, proved to be the CCS's best in the 100-yard breast and the 200 individual medley for the third year in a row.

She broke her own section meet breaststroke record, reducing it to 1:02.11, and swam the first leg for the Monarchs' record-setting 400 free relay team at Independence High School in San Jose. Her winning time of 2:01.92 in the medley did not break a record, but was more than three seconds better than runner-up Amber Hovey, a Homestead junior and another DACA swimmer headed to the Olympic Trials.

In the 400 relay, Liu teamed with sophomore Michelle Liu, freshman Dory Isaacs and junior Shannon Simonds to swim 3:27.91, about one-half second better than the previous standard set by the 2000 Homestead unit.

Liu and Isaacs teamed with seniors Lindsay Knott and Marie Ballenger to win the medley relay in 1:48.50. Lynbrook's team of sophomores Nilasha Ghosh, Jenny Wei and Jessica Chen and senior Song Qian Lee finished 10th.

Michelle Liu, who was second in both the 50 free (52.16) and the 100 back (57.03), teamed with Knott, Simonds and senior Michelle Janitzki to win the 200 free relay in a meet record 1:37.03. The relay time and Liu's backstroke mark both earned All-American status.

While Mitty ran away with the girls team championship with 362 points, Lynbrook placed 13th with 70 and Saratoga finished 31st with 9 points.

Bellarmine won the boys competition. Saratoga, on the strength of its freestyle relay squads, was 16th with 52 points and Lynbrook took 29th with 19 points.

Ghosh (56.77) placed second to Hovey in the 100 butterfly and the 50 free (24.14). She also led off Lynbrook's eighth-place finish in the 400 free relay. She was followed by Chen, junior Eileen Shu and Wei.

Saratoga scored its points in the 100 breast, as junior Jessica Douglas placed 11th and sophomore Lisa Chu was 13th.

Saratoga's boys finished sixth in the 200 free relay and seventh in the 400 free. Seniors Roger Tsai and Ben Tilles were followed by sophomore Kevin Shiuan and junior Dustin Lei as the Falcons clocked 1:30.69 in the shorter race.

In the 400, Tsai, Shiuan and Lei teamed with junior Frank Tsai for a 3:19.77 clocking. Lynbrook's team of freshman Brandt Robinson, sophomores Kevin Piercy and Andrew Wu and junior Michael Wang was 13th.