PITTSBURGH — Mauled by a dog at age 12, Beth Newell lost half the muscle in her right leg, faced months of rehabilitation and had to learn how to walk all over again.

Her response?

"I changed my e-mail address to dogchow," the Butler graduate recalled with a chuckle. "You have to maintain a sense of humor. Stuff happens. You can't get down."

Newell spends much of her time at the University of Pittsburgh these days pumping everybody up.

A senior on the Pitt women's swim team, she is a two-time winner of the Panther Triad Award, given by a vote of teammates to the swimmer who best exudes commitment, teamwork and pride.

"Beth has been through a lot, but that's not why her teammates vote her this spirit award," said Pitt women's swim coach Jeff Berghoff. "Most of them don't even know that dog mauling happened to her.

"Beth is a very outgoing person with a positive attitude. Her work ethic is incredible and she talks to kids on the team who are struggling. ... She's a tremendous leader that way.

"She probably won't score a point at the (Big East) conference meet, but she is invaluable to this team," Berghoff added.

Newell swam for the late John "Pump" McLaughlin at Butler Family YMCA and for the SEBCO summer team. After the attack, she had to spend a few months out of the water while her wounds healed.

"It took me two years to get my times back to where they were before the attack," she said. "It set me way behind in terms of my swimming.

"The day I was cleared to get back in the water, I did. Swimming was the only sport I was allowed to do at the time."

Newell swam for Butler High as a freshman, then decided she needed to intensify her efforts in the water. She joined Team Pittsburgh Aquatics, based at the university, in her sophomore and junior years.

Pitt's swimming coaches, Berghoff among them, ran that program.

"They helped me get my endurance level back up," Newell said.

She returned to the Golden Tornado team for her senior season, qualified for the WPIAL meet in the 200-meter freestyle relay, but did not place.

Once she decided to attend the Pitt, Newell figured her competitive swimming career was over.

"I weighed some options with a few Division II and III schools about swimming, but decided to go for the academics," she said. "It was time for me to prepare for life and put swimming aside."

Or so she thought.

As a Pitt freshman, Newell continued to train in the pool because it helped strengthen her leg. Both legs are at equal strength today.

Berghoff saw how hard Newell worked, told her Pitt's team had a few openings on its roster and encouraged her to walk on.

"I loved her attitude and work ethic," the coach said. "I thought she could benefit the whole team that way."

Ever since, Newell has been on the bubble in terms of maintaining her spot on the team. But it's a spot she's never lost.

"With all of the talented freshmen we bring in every year, Beth's spot has never been secure," Berghoff said. "That's just the way it is. Some kids are born with natural talent. Beth works her butt off and keeps earning her position."

Newell's crowning moment at Pitt occurred during her sophomore year. She honed in on the 200-meter backstroke as an event "where I could at least be competitive in the conference" and had to earn a spot in the Big East Championships to stay on the squad.

When she swam a time low enough to qualify, her teammates rushed to greet her.

"Some of the coaches had tears in their eyes," Newell said. "I'll never forget that."

Known as the team mom for the way she helps the freshman swimmers adapt to college life, Newell plans to stay involved in swimming. She will graduate this spring and carries a 3.8 grade-point average in business marketing.

She coach the Fox Chapel summer swim program and plans to compete in triathlons.

"I'm officially addicted to chlorine," she said. "Doing triathlons will force me to keep working out and strengthening my body."