The varsity girls swim team kicked off the season on Saturday, October 10th at Eisenhower Park, and worked hard in preparation for their first meet, especially considering the new rules and guidelines they have to follow due to COVID 19. They have a few more meets to follow, including their championship trials on November 14th, and Finals on November 15th at Eisenhower Park.
In their upcoming meets, they are expected to go up against Sacred Heart Academy on October 31st and St. Francis Prep on November 7th. This year’s schedule is in stark contrast to last year’s schedule because of their limited games and the limited competition. A normal season kicks off in early September and runs almost to the end of November. This year they did not start practice until September 21st, the first meet was October 10th and will wrap up by November 15th.
Strong performances last year led to the team setting a new St.Anthony’s 400 Free Relay record during the NYSPHSAA championships with a time of 3:32.63. The relay consisted of Junior Arabella Pompay swimming a split of 54.78, Sophomore Mary McKenna – 53.94, and Senior Kayla Rutigliano – 53.08, 2020 grad Briana Gellineau – 50.83.
This year’s roster consists of returning MVP’s, Pompay, Rutigliano, one of the team captains, as well as some fresh faces. These include freshmen Brianna Contreras, Amelia McMahon, Sofia Smerechniak, Rebecca Stampfel, and Anna White. Who knows all the hard work will make this season even more memorable and worth any personal records and or team records that will be set.
It has been tough for the team, and their supporters, knowing that spectators are not allowed to watch any games or meets for the sake of social distancing. When captains, Anna Descovich, Catherine Iorio, and Michaela Rutigliano, where asked how Covid 19 has affected the team’s meets and practices they responded by saying, “COVID-19 has definitely made organizing this year’s practices and meets a little more difficult. Instead of our entire team attending our standard 2 practices a week, we have divided ourselves into 4 smaller groups that can attend any 2 practices, Monday through Thursday. As for meets, we are only competing against 3 of the 8 teams in our league, and no spectators can attend. Although our season looks a little different this year, we are super happy to have the opportunity to swim!”
A question posted to all the girls – “If you could relive any of the meets from last year, which one would you choose?” Descovich said it would probably be champs! That’s the meet we spend all season preparing for. The energy is so fun and everyone is eager to swim their best!” The team finished third at leagues last year behind a very strong Sacred Heart Academy and Mary Louis Academy.
The team has a strong history and won state championships in 2018, as well as in 2004, and 2011-2016. They were on fire! They now look to get back on top during this shortened season. I commend these girls for the amount of work and tireless effort they put in every morning at 6:00 am, they are like machines, who will make every single one of those meets count!
Their next meet is at Eisenhower Park on October 31st, against Sacred Heart Academy at 4:00 PM. Show some support from home and wish them luck!
Go Friars!
By Scoarboard Writer Alexa Whitton-Sosa
