FCIAC Swimming Preview
FCIAC is one of the most formidable leagues in the world and this was proved at the 2009 State Open Girls Swimming Championships at Yale University. The spectacular crowd cheering in attendance was ample evidence that FCIAC is popular amongst sports fans.
At the aforementioned State Opens, FCIAC represented the top three leagues that participated in the event which included Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan respectively. These leagues also exhibited outstanding performances.
The first victory claimed by Darien at the FCIAC Championships came at the same time when Cardinals won the State Open title. On the other hand, Greenwich ended up winning 11 back to back league titles.
All the leagues including Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien, and Wilton will be sending out their most talented swimmers for this competition. Simultaneously Trumbull and Westhill/Stamford are improving their performance consistently and experts are expecting a very tough competition between these FCIAC teams at the championships scheduled for this fall.
Greenwich coach d**k Hawks is looking forward to the championships as he says that the swimmers that FCIAC will be sending out are some of the strongest contenders. He particularly talked about the two star swimmers; one of them is a freshman while the other is a graduate from a private school.
Two senior athletes Jesse Evans and Erin Calderoni, who swim for Cardinals, are the experts in the 200 yard and 500 yard freestyle. In the 200 and 500 yard events at the Class LL, Evans won the freestyle titles and Calderoni finished third in both the events.
As for the junior players, Morgan Karetnick finished third in the 200 metre individual medley at the State Open Championships last year. Out of the senior players, Tess Vorselen participated in the 200 metre individual medley at the same championships. Meanwhile, senior diver Chloe Russack ended up in the top ten divers in the State Open.
Lauren Church, the 100 metre backstroke and 100 metre freestyle winner, along with the diver Emily Stotesbery will be displaying their talents at the Open this year. The Greenwich coach, who has led the league to 18 FCIAC titles, claimed that Lauren and Emily are no doubt two of the top swimmers in the region.
Other swimmers to compete in this year’s State Open Swimming Championships include Sam Hill, Christi Golden, Megan Mahoney, Mariana Frias, Sarah Lauridsen and Sarah McEvoy.
Coach Marj Trifone says that he is under pressure this year since Darien will be competing against Greenwich. He also told correspondents that fans are expecting a lot from him this year since his team also won the Class M championships. He further added that he has to plan as to what the swimmers’ practising strategies will be and how he will be getting along those who are new in the league. Marj said that he was nervous and excited at the same time for the championship.
Blue Wave consists of a talented trio which includes two seniors and one sophomore. The senior swimmers are Alexandra Ashcraft and Adrianna Baker, while the sophomore is Caroline Ashcraft. The front line swimmers, with who the Blue Wave started its swimming season, are the 50 metre and 100 metre freestyle senior swimmer Catherine Treesh and 200 and 500 metre freestyle and 200 metre individual medley swimmer Amy Sanborn.
The swimmers of Marj Tifone’s team believe that it is prepared for all the events with sophomores Olivia Leunis and Caroline Orem for the 100 metre breaststroke and 200 metre individual medley respectively, and juniors Caroline Kearney for 100 metre breaststroke and 500 metre freestyle and Rebecca Liu for the 100 metre butterfly.
The participant of Class M Championships over the years, Darien, will now be contending the Class L championships this year along with New Canaan.
David Fine, the coach of New Canaan feels positive about the events this season. He was reported as saying that his team is working very hard to achieve its goals. Moreover he said that it will be an interesting event as New Canaan will be contending against Greenwich and Darien.
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