Allan Chu's second in 500 free gives Syosset win over Hewlett
Allan Chu of Syosset swims in the 500 freestyle during a Nassau swimming dual meet against Hewlett on Tuesday at Syosset.
When Allan Chu slipped into the water, his close friend became his closest competition.
The Syosset junior prepared to face Hewlett’s Ethan Silver in the 500 freestyle in an attempt to break a tie.
While Silver placed first (4:39.14), Chu wasn’t far behind as he finished second (4:40.54).
But it was enough.
Syosset never lost its lead and clinched its 70th consecutive dual meet win with a home victory over Hewlett, 98-88, in Nassau Conference I boys swimming Tuesday night. Syosset (6-0) hasn’t lost a dual meet since Jan. 9, 2015.
“It’s difficult to have competition with someone you’ve practiced and become friends with,” Chu said about Silver. “But this meet meant everything to my team, and I knew I had to perform.”
Jack LaBianca placed second in the 200 freestyle (1:44.93) behind Silver (1:44.72). He also placed second in the 100 butterfly (53.23) behind Hewlett’s Ethan Nus (52.91).
“There were a lot of races where we might not have come in first, but we were able to have a lot of touch outs and key points within our depth, and that was our advantage,” Syosset coach Michael Cipollino said.
Syosset sophomore Evan Collins and freshmen Nathan Ji and Daniel Chan went 1-2-3 in diving, respectively, resulting in the tie. Chu’s performance brought Syosset to a 64-62 lead over Hewlett (5-1).
“The divers stepped up for us in a huge way by giving us momentum going into the second half of the meet,” Cipollino said.
“The [younger ones are] a huge part of our team because with a meet like this, it comes down to every single one of us performing to our best ability,” LaBianca said. “I told all of them to focus on their own races and to not worry about anyone else, and that’s exactly what they did.
“We have great veteran leadership, but we also have many first-year varsity swimmers,” Cipollino said. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way that everybody stepped it up today and contributed.”
Cipollino added: “It’s great to see them perform in a high-pressure meet like this. I think that comes from how closely bonded this team is. They have such great camaraderie for each other all year long, so when we get to a meet like this, the energy is at a swell.”
