Tribute to Cameron
October 30, 2010 by Editor ·
Join Cameron Bruce’s Friends & Family In a Secular Celebration of his Life
Click for details.
Banquet Reminder
October 28, 2010 by Editor ·
Save the date: Wednesday, December 8th, 6PM – 9PM, for the end of season banquet. The event is attended by swimmers, coaches, managers and parents. We will be at the Shorehaven Golf Club in East Norwalk. Invitations will be sent out soon.
Lady Wreckers Nip Westhill
October 26, 2010 by Editor ·
By Eliot Schickler
Synchronicities abound for the Staples girls swimming team. For its second straight meet against middle-of-the pack teams — not counting its loss last Wednesday to Greenwich, the top team in the state — Staples was counting on the final relay for a victory.
The Lady Wreckers led 87-85 going into the 400-yard freestyle relay at Westhill on Friday and needed to win the race in order to win the meet.
Similar to its 95-91 victory at Ridgefield on Oct. 15, Staples won the final relay to come away with a 95-91 victory at Westhill one week later.
Junior Gabby Wimer, senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum, sophomore Sarah Cooperman and freshman Verity Abel won the 400-free relay with a time of 3:52.68 in helping the Lady Wreckers raise their record to 3-4 and establish themselves as the top middle of the pack team in the FCIAC.
“The kids were surprised about the meet over the synchronicities when they looked at the scores,” Staples Coach Mike Laux said. “We’re a good team and we were inspired. Westhill is a good team; it was their senior day and they wanted to beat us.”
Nussbaum said, “I think it’s a big meet and it establishes us as one of the best middle-of-the-pack teams in the FCIAC. One of the differences that worked for us is that we had the entire JV team and varsity team there, and having them cheer helped us.”
The Lady Vikings opened the meet by winning the 200-yard medley relay. Sophomore Alexis Teixeira, freshman Gabby LeBlanc, junior Caroline Valerio and senior captain Molly Loftus finished second for the Lady Wreckers in the 200-
medley relay (2:05.83).
Cooperman (2:06.22) won the 200-yard freestyle to lead a Staples sweep. Loftus (2:06.05) and Nussbaum (2:10.76) took second and third, respectively in the 200-free.
“I was really excited to race Molly and Stephanie because they are good swimmers,” Cooperman said. “The adrenaline got to me so I went out there and swam.”
Abel continues to dominate her events and won the 200-yard individual medley (2:16.58). LeBlanc (2:31.43) and Teixeira (2:34.82) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.
Wimer (27.00) grabbed second in the 50-yard freestyle and junior Nicole Brouillet (29.54) was fifth.
“The key to victory in the IM was to make sure I stayed level with the girls I was racing and to get as much of a lead as possible,” Abel said. “On the freestyle leg of the race, I really tried to sprint so I could get farther ahead and a better time.”
Senior captain Schaefer Andrews (168.30) won diving and senior captain Margot Bruce (119.20) finished fourth.
“I just tried to concentrate on the little things, stay focused and have fun,” Andrews said.
Going into diving, she knew how important it was for her to win. She was happy to be able to deliver.
“Everyone swam well and the swimmers did a great job,” Andrews said. “Margot and I did well. I did my hard dives, which was important and it helped the team in the end.”
Abel (1:01.96) then won the 100-yard butterfly. Valerio (1:06.70) took fourth in the 100-fly.
“The key to victory in the 100-fly was knowing that the team needed me,” Abel said. “The girls are so supportive and scoring points to help everyone out is what they deserved for being such a great team.”
Wimer (57.45) won the 100-yard freestyle and Nussbaum (1:00.29) took third.
“Having everyone cheer for me was great,” Wimer said. “I made sure I had a really good kick. We worked on it in practice a lot.”
Distance events continued to be a strength for the Lady Wreckers, with the top two positions being reversed in the 500-yard freestyle. Loftus (5:28.56) won the 500-free, Cooperman (5:33.20) took second and senior Caitlin Wiederecht (5:55.40) was fourth.
“A lot of our success at that meet was a result of team spirit,” Loftus said. “Everyone was excited for each and every race. Every race mattered so there was a lot of team support through cheering. I felt like the team was right there with me.”
LeBlanc, Nussbaum, Loftus and Abel carried the 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:46.95) to victory.
Westhill had the upper hand over Staples in the backstroke and breaststroke, which closed the gap in the meet and the Lady Wreckers were clinging to an 87-85 lead before the 400-free relay began.
Valerio (1:07.39), Teixeira (1:09.80) and Brouillet (1:11.51) finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively in the 100-yard backstroke. LeBlanc (1:16.58) and sophomore Anita Vohra (1:18.13) were three-four in the 100-yard breaststroke.
“I’m proud of the entire team,” Cooperman said. “There was pressure because we knew we had to win the meet but we had a pep talk beforehand and we swam our hardest.”
Loftus said, “I think our victory over Westhill was a key component to getting back on track and revealing our ability to race. The confidence and excitement we acquired through this Westhill meet will carry us through the season and definitely have a presence in future meets, including championships. Westhill is a great team, and it was a very close meet. We had fun swimming them.”
Reprinted from the Westport News
Senior Day!!
October 25, 2010 by Editor ·
Just a quick reminder: this Wednesday, October 27th at 4pm, we will be hosting Danbury in one of our final home meets of the season. At the end of the meet we will have a brief tribute to our seniors to thank them for their contribution and dedication to the team. Everyone is invited to come and cheer for the entire team and see the send off that has been planned for our seniors. Go Wreckers!
Wanted: Cake Flushing Photos & Videos
October 21, 2010 by Editor ·
My father is putting together a “cake flushing” video for the Thanksgiving Weekend “Tribute to Cameron” and he asked me to pull together photos and videos.
Friends of Cam (especially those of you in college): please take a short video, or a series of photos, showing you flushing “cake for Cam”. We’d especially like the photos or videos to include some shots showing where you are (such as a sign of your college).
When you are done, email me and I’ll tell you how to upload your piece to my MobileMe iDisk.
Thanks,
Gabby Wimer
Lady Wreckers Hold Their Own
October 21, 2010 by Editor ·
By Eliot Schickler
Sometimes, there isn’t much a team can do in a meet. Take the Staples girls swimming and diving team when it hosted mighty Greenwich on Wednesday. Greenwich is the premier program in the state and it has a lot of depth, thus, Staples knew it had as much of a chance of beating the Lady Cardinals as a Republican has of winning an election in Bridgeport.
True to form, Greenwich raised its record to 8-0 with a 101-83 victory but the host Lady Wreckers (2-4) left the pool feeling proud of themselves because they had many strong performances.
“It was a good meet,” Staples Coach Mike Laux said. “It was a meet the team felt they didn’t have a chance to win but we got in there and did a good job.”
Knowing this going in, Laux inserted his swimmers in events they don’t normally swim. Lady Wrecker freshman Verity Abel has been dominant all year in the individual medley and butterfly but against the Lady Cardinals, she swam two different events and reigned victorious in both, winning the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:12.24 and the 100-meter backstroke (1:10.53).
“I was excited because I didn’t swim them yet this year,” Abel said. “I like having variety and this meet was an opportunity to change things up.”
Getting the victories was nice for Abel but she didn’t get carried away in the moment.
“I suppose it’s quite rewarding,” Abel said. “Swimming is a great sport and it’s all about being on the team.”
Senior captain Molly Loftus (2:18.81) took second in the 200-free and sophomore Alexis Teixeira was fifth in the 100-back (1:18.70).
Freshman Gabby LeBlanc also won an individual event for Staples, claiming victory in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:24.82). Sophomores Anita Vohra (1:25.72) and Patricia Maragos (1:28.72) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the 100-breaststroke.
“I guess it was by being excited about the meet and wanting to help the team,” LeBlanc said. “Greenwich is a good team and I’m glad to swim against them. It feels good because we were all very close.”
Staples also did well in the freestyle relays, winning the 200-meter freestyle relay (1:59.06) behind junior Gabby Wimer, senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum, sophomore Sarah Cooperman and Abel and the 400-meter freestyle relay (4:33.12) behind Wimer, Nussbaum, Abel and Loftus. The 200-free B relay team of sophomore Becky Raab, senior Joanna Wexler, sophomore Phoebe Corde and Loftus took third (2:07.44) and the 400-free B relay team of senior Caitlin Wiederecht, Wexler, junior Caroline Valerio and Cooperman took second (4:53.61).
Cooperman (2:40.26) and LeBlanc (2:45.78) finished three-five in the 200-meter individual medley. LeBlanc (29.53) and Raab (31.60) were two-five in the 50-meter freestyle. Valerio grabbed third in the 100-meter butterfly (1:14.00) and classmate Emily Greene (1:24.82) was fifth in the 100-fly.
Senior captain Schaefer Andrews took second in diving (186.225) and junior Michelle Mastrianni (143.65) was fourth. Wimer (1:04.83) and Nussbaum (1:06.72) were three-four in the 100-meter freestyle. In the 400-meter freestyle, Cooperman (4:52.80) and Loftus (4:56.11) took second and third, respectively.
Reprinted from the Westport News
Girls If You are Interested in Playing Water Polo:
October 20, 2010 by Editor ·
This Friday, October 22, Brian Kelly, the Head Coach of Iona College (Division I water polo) is coming to Staples to conduct a clinic with the boys’ team. The clinic is from 4:30 to 7pm. While we realize that both girls’ teams have an away meet, if you get to school early before the 5 pm bus, please come and check it out for a little while. Maybe if he sees our interest, he would come back and conduct a similar event for girls’ water polo in the spring.
Good luck at Westhill!!!
Busy Two Weeks
October 19, 2010 by Editor ·
Hydrate, good nutrition, rest and hydrate….. The swim season “crush and crunch time” has arrived. Take care of your work and yourself so we can all be the best we can be!
GO WRECKERS!
Lady Wreckers Tame Ridgefield
October 19, 2010 by Editor ·
By Eliot Schickler
All the hard practices between meets have paid off for the Staples girls swimming team. Staples, who has gone two weeks between dual meets because of a quirk in the schedule, had intense practices under the tutelage of Head Coach Mike Laux and it put it to use on Friday in a 95-91 victory at Ridgefield to raise its record to 2-3.
Moreover, the Lady Wreckers did it without senior captain Molly Loftus, who was on a college recruiting visit and their win over Ridgefield looms larger because the Lady Tigers are a middle of the pack team. If Staples wins at Westhill on Friday, it will establish itself as the FCIAC’s best middle of the pack team. Norwalk, who lost to Staples last month, is in this mix as well.
“It was great and it was an especially big win for us because we were missing Molly Loftus,” Laux said. “It was big that we won without her. The key to the win was tremendous improvements.”
Lady Wrecker senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum, classmate Caitlin Wiederecht and sophomore Sarah Cooperman especially improved and dropped significant times in their respective events.
“My improvement is due to the training from the week before,” Nussbaum said. “We had no meets, Mr. Laux pushed us and it paid off.”
Cooperman said, “We’ve been doing new training and tried harder practices. Our entire team did well against Ridgefield and I’m proud of everyone.”
Cooperman had a strong meet in winning both individual events and swam a leg for two winning relay teams. Her first victory came in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 2:18.84.
“I decided to treat it as a sprint race and I tried my hardest,” Cooperman said. “I heard my teammates cheer for me, which really motivated me to go faster.”
Nussbaum (2:21.78) and Wiederecht (2:28.92) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the 200-free with the former qualifying for the Class LL championships.
Ms. Distance could have been Cooperman’s title as she garnered her second victory in the 400-meter freestyle ((4:50.76).
“Mr. Laux told me how to swim it, he had me do it in a way I haven’t done it before,” Cooperman said. “I used whatever energy I had left and I tried to go for it.”
Wiederecht (5:11.90) took third in the 500-free and dropped 16 seconds from her previous personal best.
Freshman Verity Abel continued to be Ms. Dependable for Staples and won two events. Abel’s first triumph came in the 200-meter individual medley (2:30.03).
“The 200-IM is one of my best events and I’ve done it so many times and I have the right technique for it,” Abel said.
Placing third and fifth respectively for the Lady Wreckers in the 200-IM were freshman Gabby LeBlanc (2;38.81) and sophomore Alexis Teixeira (2:50.86). LeBlanc qualified for Class LL.
Abel won the 100-meter butterfly (1:07.97) and junior Caroline Valerio took third in the 100-fly (1:14.78).
“I’m primarily a butterflier and each time I race it, it’s a different race and I’ve done it many times,” Abel said.
Junior Gabby Wimer delivered Staples’ other victory in individual events by capturing the 100-meter freestyle (1:04.26).
“I made sure I got faster and I made sure I dove into my race and kicked more in the second 50,” Wimer said.
Nussbaum took second in the 100-free (1:05.78) and qualified for Class LL.
“It feels really good and I worked all season for it,” Nussbaum said. “It feels great to achieve it in midseason.”
Wimer, Nussbaum, Cooperman and Abel led the 200-meter freestyle (1:56.78) and 400-meter freestyle (4:16.49) relay teams to victory. The 400-free relay was the last event of the meet and Staples was 87-85 leading going into it. The Lady Wreckers needed to win the event in order to win the meet. If they finished second and third, the meet would have ended in a tie and if they didn’t win and only grabbed one of the next two places, they would have lost.
“Ridgefield put their good relay in the 200-free and I knew they couldn’t touch us in the 400-free,” Laux said.
The Lady Tigers won the 200-meter medley relay and Staples had to settle for second in it behind Teixeira, LeBlanc, Valerio and sophomore Becky Raab (2:17). Wimer (29.65) and Raab (31.21) were two-three in the 50-meter freestyle.
Diving is an event the Lady Wreckers usually wins behind senior captain Schaefer Andrews but Ridgefield had a strong diver and Andrews (178.81) had to settle for second. Junior Michelle Mastrianni (147.25) and senior captain Margot Bruce (96.55) took third and fifth, respectively.
Valerio (1:15.74) and Teixeira (1:15.94) took second and third respectively in the 100-meter backstroke. LeBlanc (1:23.91) and sophomores Anita Vohra (1:26.72) and Patricia Maragos(1:26.81) were three-four-five in the 100-meter breaststroke.
“I thought the girls stepped it up and it was one of the most exciting meets in my four years at Staples,” Nussbaum said. “We had no meets for two weeks, Mr. Laux pushed us in that time span and it paid off against Ridgefield. Laux motivates us to work hard and to achieve to our potential.”
Reprinted from the Westport News
New Date for Senior Day!
October 5, 2010 by Admin ·
Senior Day has been changed to Wednesday, October 27th during the Danbury meet. Please come and join the fun as we salute our seniors!
