THE master-apprentice model gets muddled up when it comes to swimmer Ryan Jennings.
At 19, you would think he is the learner, but he is in fact the teacher, taking charge of classes for masters.
The dedicated teenager who rises before 6am to help the seasoned swimmers came up against a handful of his students yesterday in the final leg of the 2010 Shipwreck Coast Swim Series.
Following wins in the Port Fairy and Port Campbell events, Jennings made it a hat-trick of open victories, being the first open competitor to complete yesterday's Tony Ryan Memorial Bay Swim in Warrnambool.
The triple treat ensured he clinched this year's series, which added to his 2008 triumph.
Jennings described yesterday's conditions as flat.
"Chris (Russell) and I swam next to each other nearly the whole way," he said.
"Matt Logan was with us as well.
"Pretty much when we got to the last buoy, we all just went for it.
"I was feeling a little bit sore but not too bad," he said.
After a quick look back when he reached the sand to check where Logan (16:41) and Russell (16:55) were, Jennings threw his fists in the air to celebrate his victory.
He clocked in at 16 minutes and 28 seconds in the 1.2-kilometre event.
"It's always good to win local events," said Jennings, who is giving up his coaching duties of the masters to move to Melbourne for university this year.
The quickest overall male yesterday was Isaac Jones, who had a swift time of 16:16. Not only was the Warrnambool Swimming Club member the fastest male, he was also the quickest junior, earning him the Tony Ryan Memorial Award.
The overall series female winner was Tarsha Umbers (18:08), who finished second yesterday to triathlete Sarah Harkin (18:01).
Tarsha, 15, is training for the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships.
The titles are at Lake Nagambie, near Shepparton, in a fortnight.
"I have a really heavy training schedule," she said.
"This week I did nine sessions in the pool."
Despite the strenuous week of training, she was still able to claim top honours in the Shipwreck Coast Swim Series.
"It's the first time I've done the whole series," she said.
"I was only doing it for a bit of training for my distance swimming.
"I didn't expect to win at all."
The Warrnambool Swim?ming Club member said she had a focus before yesterday's swim.
"I needed to get out fast in the run because that's my weakness," she said.
"When I got to the first yellow buoy, I was with a couple of boys and knew they would take me to the end.
"Overall it wasn't too bad. I would've liked to run a bit faster but I was still happy with how I went," Tarsh said.
After a tight squeeze at the start of the Port Campbell leg, swimmers went off in waves of three yesterday.
Organiser Anne Kerr said 209 swimmers took to the water for the final leg, with everybody finishing.
"All three of the swims were up in numbers," she said.
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