Melville girls swim to county title again
Selina Ng of Half Hollow Hills takes first place in the 100 meter butterfly at the Suffolk County Girls swimming and diving championships, Saturday, in Brentwood. (Nov. 12, 2011) Credit: John Dunn
If the Ward Melville girls swimming team proved one thing at the Suffolk County Championships Saturday, it was that you could lose almost every battle but still win the war. The Patriots won their 20th consecutive county championship, largely thanks to the team's depth.
Their lone win of the day came in the final event, the 400 freestyle relay, with the team of Rachel Bertini, Alex Donnelly, Phoebe McAuliffe and Jessica Fabrizio qualifying for the state championships with a time of 3:40.73.
Coach Chris Gordon said he is excited about the win, but he also just wanted to get the meet over with.
"It's awesome, but it feels more like a weight was lifted," Gordon said. "Some of my girls started to feel the pressure of reaching the milestone and that made me feel more pressure, so it's definitely a relief."
Despite just one win, Ward Melville finished with a margin of victory of more than 100 points with 373. "It's always been that way for us," Gordon said. "When you can put so many girls in each event consistently, it helps the team's scoring. We're never carried to victory by individuals; it's the entire team that earns the win."
In the nine individual events, the Patriots had three or more swimmers competing in seven of them.
"This streak is a strong representation not only of the program, but of our community," said assistant coach Britni Navetta, who was part of the Ward Melville team that won the school's 10th straight county title. "It was amazing to watch this group compete."
The streak has gone on so long that no swimmer or diver on the current roster has been alive a year the Patriots haven't won. "It's really special to be a part of history, especially in my senior year," Fabrizio said.
Also qualifying for states for Ward Melville were the team of Liyan Yao, Cassandra Willie, Fabrizio and Bertini in the 200 medley relay (1:51.55), Bertini (59.79) and Willie (59.22) in the 100 butterfly, Kristen Pozmanter in the 500 freestyle (5:11.96), Colleen Lampe in the 100 backstroke (1:00.22), and Fabrizio in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.52).
In an exciting battle for second place, Half Hollow Hills edged Connetquot 261-257. Connetquot trailed most of the way but tied with Hills at 222 after the 10th event and then took the lead after the 11th event 239-237.
Ward Melville's lead after five events was just 147-118, but the Patriots started picking up momentum and left no doubt who would be the victor. Once the final score was announced, the team jumped in the pool together.
Gordon has coached at Ward Melville for 18 years and said he hasn't made any long-term plans. "I just want to enjoy this one, and then just start fresh and get another one next year," he said.
