Lady Wrecker Swimmers Lap East Lyme

By Eliot Schickler

The Staples girls swimming team opened the season with a 100-81 win at East Lyme Friday.

“It was a fantastic meet because East Lyme is a balanced team and we swam in an eight-lane pool where we were able to use four kids in every event,” Staples coach Mike Laux said. “We had extra heats in four events and I was able to learn more about my team. I’m happy with what I learned.”

Lady Wreckers senior Gabby Wimer said, “It was a great way to start the season and with [the pool being] eight lanes, we were able to see a lot of trends for the team.”

Staples won 11 out of 12 events and showed it is a force to be reckoned with. Wimer was the top sprinter with wins in the 50-yard freestyle (26.37) and 100-yard freestyle (58.16).

“Having all my teammates cheering for me [made a difference],” Wimer said. “We were all pumped up and it helped me swim fast.”

Freshman Jessi Taets and junior Rebecca Raab were second and third, respectively in the 50-free and freshman Stacy Kaneko was third in the 100-free.

While Wimer ruled the sprints, sophomore Verity Abel continued off of last year’s Team MVP pace and ruled distance events. Abel won the 200-yard freestyle (1:59.45) and 500-yard freestyle (5:19.89).

“I started training three weeks ago and I was in shape for it,” Abel said. “It was our first meet and I was excited, which motivated me. The new freshmen helped as well.”

On how she became savvy in long races, Abel said, “I’ve built my endurance through years of training and my stamina is very good. I rest up and stay hydrated.”

Junior Sarah Cooperman was third in the 200-free and 500-free.

Senior Caroline Valerio and sophomore Gabby LeBlanc also won two meets each for the Lady Wreckers. Valerio won the 100-yard butterfly (1:05.69) and 100-yard backstroke (1:08.30), and LeBlanc was victorious in the 200-yard individual medley (2:25.29) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:17.13).

Freshman Jordan Santarella took second in the 200-IM and 100-fly, Kaneko and junior Alexis Teixeira were two-three in the 100-back and Taets placed second in the 100-breaststroke.

Staples also dominated the relays. Valerio, LeBlanc, Abel and Raab won the 200-yard medley relay (2:00.96) and Teixeira, Taets, Santarella and Kaneko grabbed second in the 200-medley relay. Wimer, Raab, Taets and Cooperman prevailed in the 200-yard freestyle relay and junior Molly Rubidge, freshman Suzanne Hyman, sophomores Grace Meehan and Jocelyn Krim helped the B-team of the 200-free relay team take third. Wimer, Santarella, Cooperman and Abel powered the 400-yard freestyle relay team (3:56.04) to victory.

East Lyme’s only win came in diving where senior Michelle Mastrianni took third (149.85) for Staples.

“I’m proud of the girls,” Wimer said. “They did what they needed to do to swim fast.”

The Lady Wreckers will be tested when then host a vastly improved Norwalk-Brien McMahon co-op team today at 4 p.m. and defending Class M champion Wilton Friday at 4 p.m.

“I see Norwalk as having the top 16 times in USA swimming and they are loaded,” Laux said. “It will be a close meet and I hope we can come out ahead.”

Reprinted from the Westport News

Lady Wreckers Strive to Swim Best Times

By Eliot Schickler

Getting through the FCIAC schedule will be the toughest task for the Staples girls swimming team.

Four of the five best teams in the state (Greenwich, New Canaan, Darien and Wilton) are in the FCIAC (Cheshire is the only non-FCIAC team in the top five) and chances are, Staples could be the best 5-5 or 6-4 team in the state. (Trumbull was the sixth best team last year).

Last year, the Lady Wreckers were 4-5 in the regular season, placed sixth at FCIACs, third in the Class LL championships and ninth at State Open. This year, Staples hopes to finish at 5-5 because it added Fairfield Ludlowe to its docket and if it upsets Trumbull (one of the five teams that are somewhat in its range), it can finish 6-4. The aim isn’t wins and losses but to improve times as the season progresses.

“We have a really good group of girls,” Lady Wreckers senior tri-captain Gabby Wimer said. “We’re excited and hope to swim best times and work hard. We’re looking forward to our first meet against Ludlowe [Friday Sept. 16]. We hope to have about the same record as last year with one more win because we swim against the best teams in the FCIAC. We have to take it one meet at a time, stay motivated and spirited and work together as a team.”

Staples will miss five mainstays from last year’s team — all who are swimming in college. Molly Loftus (distance freestyle) is the biggest loss for the Lady Wreckers and is swimming for the University of Tennessee. They will also miss diver Schaefer Andrews, Stephanie Nussbaum, Margot Bruce and Caitlin Wiederecht.

“We lose some key swimmers, Molly, Stephanie, Schaefer, Margot and Caitlin, all who scored in the state meet,” Staples Coach Mike Laux said.

Despite losing five stalwarts, the Lady Wreckers feel good because they return many solid swimmers who scored last year, including sophomore Verity Abel their Team MVP. Abel was dominant in freestyle events and the backstroke, setting the Class LL record in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.61 seconds. Abel continues to improve and when she graduates in 2014, she could leave Staples as its best swimmer ever.

“I think we have a good nucleus coming back and the team has a lot of potential,” Laux said. “We have some good kids coming back, plus some talented newcomers.”

Wimer is one of the top returnees and is expected to score in sprint freestyle events while guiding the team in the right direction. Senior tri-captains Caroline Valerio and Michelle Mastrianni also expect to provide strong leadership. Valerio swims the butterfly and backstroke while Mastrianni is a diver. Emily Greene is a senior who is expected to score in distance freestyle events.

“Our team has a lot of potential and we can end up with a pretty good record this year,” Valerio said. “We look decent coming into the season.”

Junior Sarah Cooperman is a strong distance freestyle performer and she’s been the top swimmer in her class since freshman year. Other juniors expected to score points are Anita Vohra (breaststroke and individual medley), Alexis Teixiera (backstroke and IM), Phoebe Corde (butterfly), Patricia Maragos (breaststroke and IM) and Becca Raab (sprint freestyle and backstroke).

Sophomore Gabby LeBlanc (IM and breaststroke) was a state finalist last year and expects to be formidable. Jocelyn Krim (butterfly and sprint freestyle) is an improved sophomore and is expected to contribute.

Freshman Jessi Taets (breaststroke and IM) is expected to make a big splash this year.

The Lady Wreckers hope to be solid in diving. Complementing Mastrianni are sophomore Anna Violette, the gymnastics team’s Block S MVP and newcomer to diving, and freshman Olivia Crosby.

“The other divers are relatively new,” Mastrianni said. “Anna is an amazing gymnast and is learning how to dive. Olivia is also a gymnast and is learning. If they get all their dives, they will do very well. I’m glad we have three girls competing.”

If Staples was in a different conference, it could go 9-1 or even better. But it’s a different story in the FCIAC.

“I’d like to finish 5-5, 6-4 would be great and even better but we’d have to beat a team we’re an underdog to,” Laux said. “I’d like to finish in the top half of FCIAC, top five in Class LL and top 10 in State Open.”

Reprinted from the Westport News

Staples Swimmers to Cross Long Island Sound

BRIDGEPORT – Representing the Staples High School Swimming and Diving Team are five young people, impressive not only as athletes, but as individuals. The Staples High School team will participate Saturday, Aug. 6 in the 24th Annual Swim Across the Sound Marathon. St. Vincent’s Swim Across the Sound provides cancer education, screening, and prevention programs for the community. These athletes join a field of over 250 swimmers for a 15.5 mile journey across the Long Island Sound from Port Jefferson, N.Y. to Captain’s Cove Seaport in Bridgeport.

Raising over $10,000 last year, and finishing in the top third, the Staples High School team will compete again with returning swimmer Kyle Bacon, 16. Kyle is joined this year by Jocelyn (“Joss”) Abel, 17, his brother, Laurence (“Larry”), 19, their sister, Verity, 15, and their friend, Gabrielle (“Gabby”) Wimer, 16. This year they are swimming in honor of Masato Sakaguchi, the 4-year-old brother of Fairfield swimmers Miki, Tomoya, Toshi and Yumi. Masato passed away last July after a two-year battle with brain cancer and Verity describes him as a “ray of sunshine”. Gabrielle says that they lost a member of their “swim family” when Masato passed away. The Sakaguchi children have swum with the Staples swimmers for years on the Westport Weston Family Y’s Water Rat Swim Team.

“We hope to bring the same tenacity, determination, and optimism to the swim as Masato brought to his battle with cancer. His spirit will be with us during the swim, and his smile will be in our thoughts, Joss said.”

Each relay team must raise $7,500, averaging about $1,500 a swimmer. At this year’s event, which is open to the public, the fastest swimmers are expected to cross the finish line at approximately 2:30 p.m., depending on the weather. The majority of the field will jockey for the finish line at about 4:30 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow at 7 p.m. at Captain’s Cove Seaport.

Reprinted from The Minuteman

Editor’s Note: Click if you wish to support the Staples team by donating to Swim Across the Sound.

Abel Siblings Swim to Help Cancer Victims

By Eliot Schickler

Swimming and altruism intersect when countless people participate in Swim Across the Sound Aug. 6.

Larry, Joss and Verity Abel along with Gabby Wimer and Kyle Bacon will do their part as members of the Staples High School Swim Across the Sound relay team by raising funds for St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation, which provides cancer support for under-insured and uninsured people.

The Abels, Wimer and Bacon are also swimming in honor of Masato Sakaguchi, the 4-year-old brother of Fairfield swimmers Miki, Tomoya, Toshi and Yumi, who passed away last July after a two-year battle with brain cancer.

“We’re a swimming family and we want to swim for a very good cause,” Verity said. “We wanted to swim in honor of Masato Sakaguchi.”

Last year, the Staples team raised more than $10,000 and placed 14th. The team would like to raise $20,000 this year. Joss, Wimer and Bacon will be senior captains next year for their respective teams. Verity will be a sophomore and Larry, who graduated in 2010, is entering his sophomore year for Susquehanna University and swims for the Crusaders.

“I think it will be great being on a team with my siblings, Kyle and Gabby but especially my siblings because we’re a family team and it will be a great experience,” Larry said.

Joss said, “I’m excited to swim with my family because it’s a family-oriented event and I haven’t swum with them in awhile. It will be cool.”

Verity said, “I think it’s going to be very fun and I like to do things with my family.”

Swim Across the Sound is also personal for the Abel siblings because their mother, Linda, worked at St. Vincent’s for many years and their father, Paul, is a cancer survivor. Paul was afflicted with colon cancer, which has been in remission for five years.

“It brings it closer to home because without the research at Sloan-Kettering, he would not be with us today,” Joss said. “I’m looking forward to the swim because it’s for a good cause and it’s relevant to the swimming community. We lost a few members of the swimming community and it’s a good way to raise funds towards cancer research.”

In addition to Sakaguchi, YMCA Water Rats mom Maura Marden died last September and Staples boys swimming coach Jeff Schare’s mom, Eve, passed away in 2002 from cancer.

“We were thrilled when we found out he’s [their father] OK, but we have to remember it doesn’t always work out for others,” Larry said. “It gives us a true feel for it and luckily for us, it wasn’t as tragic as it was for many others.”

Photo above: The Abel siblings, Larry (left), Joss and Verity (far right) will swim for the Staples High School Swim Across The Sound team Aug. 6 to raise funds for St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation, which provides cancer support for under-insured and uninsured people. Their mother Linda (second from right), worked as an occupational therapist at St. Vincent’s.

Reprinted from The Westport News

Loftus’s Success Leads to Swimming for D1 School

By Eliot Schickler

Molly Loftus epitomized dependability and success in the pool.

Whether she swims for the Staples girls swimming team, for whom she was a captain for this fall, the Westport YMCA Water Rats or next year in college, Loftus has always been consistent and has come through in big races. The Rats are especially confident she’ll deliver for them at the YMCA National championships next month.

“Being with a great group of teammates, family and friends made me strive to improve and my coaches helped me out a lot,” Loftus says.

Staples Coach Mike Laux appreciates what Loftus has meant to the program and bestowed upon her the Rich Rollins award. Rollins is Laux’ predecessor and the award is given to the senior swimmer who has given her most to the team for the past four years.

“I felt very accomplished after my four years at Staples and I couldn’t figure out a better way to end my career at Staples,” Loftus says. “I was grateful to receive the Rollins award,”

Sophomore year, Loftus was the Block S team MVP.

“I always looked up to the older girls on the team and I never thought I’d get the award,” Loftus recalls.

All four years, she earned All-FCIAC and All-State honors. Senior year, Loftus won the 500-yard freestyle at the FCIAC championships with a time 5:10.51 and at the Class LL championships (5:03.44).

“I was lucky to have a group of upperclassmen to set the tone early on and good underclassmen the last two years,” Loftus says. “I looked up to the upperclassmen when I was younger and as an upperclassmen, I try to set the tone for the underclassmen.”

Laux was impressed with her success from the moment Loftus began swimming for him.

“Dedication and hard work,” Laux says on the key to Loftus’ success. “She’s an excellent, versatile and able swimmer with a good work ethic and a wonderful personality. “She swam four events for us all four years and we’ll miss her a lot.”

Distance events have been her forte since all four years for the Lady Wreckers. The longer the distance, the more comfortable and confident Loftus feels in the pool.

“It’s mostly about having a different mindset and I have fun with it,” Loftus says on how she became a distance swimmer instead of a sprinter. “I guess from an early age, I was more of a distance swimmer. Distance swimmers are aggressive and thrive on pounding ourselves with longer sets. We like to challenge ourselves.”

For Staples, she swam the 200-yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle (at home meets, the 200-meter freestyle and 400-meter freestyle) and two relays. Although most people see the 200-free as a distance event, for Loftus, it’s more like a sprint because she swims the 1,000-meters and the mile for the Rats.

“There’s definitely a strategy in the 200,” Loftus says. “It’s definitely a challenge and I have to change my mindset. I have to think faster and quicker and focus on the finer aspects of my race.”

Loftus feels like she’s in her element when swimming the 500-free.

“Even though it’s not as long as the 1,000, I still see it as a distance event,” Loftus says. “It’s middle distance for me. I try to break it up into 100s [five intervals of 100 yards each] so I don’t get overwhelmed by it.”

The 1,000-free requires more endurance and Loftus adjusts her strategy for it.

“I break it up in half, the first 500 and the second 500,” she says. “In the first 500, I try to stay relaxed and aggressive and maintain my speed for the next 500 so I can break through a wall and the race becomes easier.”

Swimming the mile is the toughest, even for a distance-oriented swimmer like Loftus because it drains its participants. Nevertheless, she figures out a way to roll with it.

“I always have a plan for that one, I have to stay relaxed but make sure my muscles warm up,” Loftus says. “It’s hard if you try and it’s hard if you don’t try, so you might as well try.”

Last year at YMCA Nationals, Loftus medaled in the mile by taking 16th place with a time of 17:18.

“It felt great and I hope to do better this year,” Loftus says. “I was excited after my race but whenever I come out of the water [after swimming the mile], I’m very tired.”

Water Rats Senior Coach Ellen Johnston said, “Molly has the ability to get into a rhythm and gets stronger as the training sets get longer. This transfers quite well to swimming the longer races. ”

Swimming relays is another strength of hers. Loftus helped the Lady Wreckers out by swimming relays. She contributed to the team’s success usually as the leadoff or anchor leg for the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard freestyle relay teams.

“Definitely, practicing safe starts is important,” Loftus says. “Maintaining a good position so your teammates can hold the lead or catch up is also important. If you’re in a position where you have to catch up, you give it all you have.”

One challenging aspect of relays for Loftus is that the events are like a sprint for her because she swims either 50 or 100 yards. Adjusting her mindset to handle the shorter distance isn’t a problem because of her ability to see the big picture.

“Relays are definitely more exciting, which fuels you,” Loftus says. “It’s a matter of being in the moment, swimming with your teammates and your obligation to them. This often helps me get through sprinting events.”

Life in the pool began for her at age 6. Loftus chose swimming because her older sisters Kellen and Emma swam. Kellen swam for Staples before graduating in 2006.

“I looked up to them when I was younger,” Loftus says. “I tried other sports but swimming was what I was interested in. I like being free in the water and it feels natural to me. It draws a great group of people.”

Leadership is a strength of hers as well as Loftus served as captain. She mostly led by example but also guided the team verbally when she needed to.

“It was an unreal experience and I never thought I’d get this close in my high school career,” Loftus says. “I never thought I’d be with this [great] group of girls and finish my four years like this. From time to time, it helps to lead verbally as well but for the most part, I lead by example.”

Academically, she excels in the classroom. Anatomy of physiology is her favorite subject.

“Swimming helps me manage my time better,” Loftus says. “It creates more structure. I don’t have too much free time and I always do something constructive. The biggest challenge is morning practice and I have to go to bed early the night before.”

Next year, Loftus will be swimming at the Division I level. She’s undecided about her major but would like to be a veterinarian.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge but I’ll try to stay positive and have great influences on the team,” Loftus says. “I’ll try to stay on top of it with college life and swimming and hope to be successful there.”

[Editor's Note: After this article was published in the Westport News, Loftus announced that she had agreed to swim for the University of Tennessee.]

Reprinted from the Westport News

Nussbaum Hopes to Swim in College

By Eliot Schickler

Stephanie Nussbaum lives for the water, which is like a second home to her. Whether its swimming or water polo, she is in her element while in the pool and has experienced success in both sports.

A senior captain for the Staples girls swimming and water polo teams, Coach Mike Laux named her as the Block S Coach’s award recipient in swimming.

“I was honored to get the award and that Mr. Laux taught highly of me,” Nussbaum said. “I worked hard this year and I’m flattered to be recognized.”

Laux is impressed with Nussbaum for her work ethic and for stepping up as a leader.

“I’m really pleased with what she did with herself on the swimming and water polo teams,” he said. “Stephanie is an incredibly bright and aware person who utilizes it in motivating kids on the swim team and her ability to play the field in water polo.”

Nussbaum also earned Second Team All-FCIAC.

`It was a privilege and a goal I set for myself freshman year and it felt good to accomplish it,” she said.

Being a team-oriented individual describes Nussbaum to a T. Before this year, she was a sprint freestyler, swimming the 50-free and 100-free sophomore and junior year, but the team needed her to become a middle distance swimmer because of graduation and she swam the 100-free and 200-free this year.

Freshman year, she was primarily a breaststroker, the stroke she swam during her formative years.

“I guess it came naturally to me,” Nussbaum recalled. “When I first started to swim, I liked the breaststroke.”

After playing water polo freshman year, she switched from the breaststroke to the freestyle. Sprinting to the ball in water polo built her skills towards becoming a sprint freestyler.

“I learned how to burst into the water [while playing water polo] instead of building into it,” Nussbaum said. It [switching from the breaststroke to freestyle] wasn’t as difficult as I expected it to be and water polo helped me sprint in freestyle.”

Swimming the 100-free and 200-free require two different ways of doing it because more endurance is required while swimming the 200. Nussbaum’s ability to adjust and utilize appropriate strategies for both races enabled her to contribute in both events.

“The 100 is about going as fast as you can for four laps while the 200 is more about strategies and pacing yourself,” Nussbaum says. “Mr. Laux has helped me with strategies this year in the 200. He said `swim fast for the first 100 but swim comfortably fast and give everything I have in the second 100.’”

While helping the Lady Wreckers in individual events, Nussbaum was a bigger contributor for them in relays. She normally swam the second leg in the 200-free and 400-free relays, helping the 200-yard freestyle relay team place third at Class LL, one spot short of All-State honors.

“The key is teamwork, having good chemistry with everyone in your relay and not to miss-time your start,” Nussbaum said. “You can get disqualified for miss-timing your start by a half a second and you have to be able to predict when someone before you hits the wall.”

In choosing between individual events and relay events, Nussbaum prefers the latter because these events are more important for the team.

“They count for more points and I want to do whatever I can to get as many points for the team,” Nussbaum says.

Life in the pool began for Nussbaum before she could walk. Coming from a swimming family, where her father’s side of the tree, all grew up swimming. She took classes back then and learned how to float.

Nussbaum was born in New York, and swam for Asphalt Green in New York City before moving to Westport in third grade. Once she moved, she continued taking lessons but didn’t swim competitively until seventh grade when she joined the Westport YMCA Water Rats.

Freshman year, she joined the water polo team. Her father and his family played water polo as well. Having Laux coach the team also prodded her to join it.

“Once I picked up the ball, I never let go,” Nussbaum proclaims.

She was the Lady Wreckers’ top offensive player with 10 goals and was one of the team’s top players last year while playing the driver position. During the winter, Nussbaum plays for the Greenwich YMCA Junior Olympic team.

Her ability to distribute the ball makes her a dangerous weapon on offense.

“Practice, having good chemistry with my teammates and knowing where they were made it easier for me to distribute the ball,” Nussbaum said.

Growing up, Nussbaum played soccer, basketball and softball. She was exceptional in soccer and played for the travel team for five years, but in eighth grade, she hung up her cleats to focus on swimming.

“It was a hard decision but I made the right one,” Nussbaum recalled.

Leadership is a strength of Nussbaum’s as she is a captain in both sports. She `s shy by nature and leads mostly by example through her work ethic.

“It’s really an honor and it’s helpful the girls on the swim team also play water polo,” Nussbaum said. “I try to lead by example in the pool, classroom and outside of school.”

Nussbaum’s accolades aren’t limited to the water. She’s a two-year academic All-American in water polo and she’s the swimming team’s representative to the Scholar-Athlete banquet in June.

“It’s a privilege and it feels good to be recognized because I put in a lot of hard work the last four years and it’s finally paying off,” Nussbaum said.

Social studies, government and economics are her favorite subjects and her ability to balance her schoolwork with athletics is instrumental to her success in all endeavors.

“Swimming and water polo prepare you well,” Nussbaum says. “It teaches you time management skills with early morning practice and prepared me for college.”

Next fall, she’ll attend college. She’s undecided about where she wants to go but hopes to become a lawyer, working for a nonprofit or advocacy organization.

Before hitting the legal world, Nussbaum hopes to compete in the water in college in either swimming, water polo or both. In order to excel in either or both sports, she has to raise her skill level.

“Focusing on the fundamentals and training longer and harder,” Nussbaum says. “The high school season is short in comparison to the longer season and I’d improve more with a longer season.”

Laux is confident she could play either or both sports at a Division II or III college. He says, “The great thing about Stephanie is that she hasn’t leveled off as a senior and keeps getting better.”

Reprinted from the Westport News

Staples Excels at State Open

By Eliot Schickler

Mission accomplished for both the Staples and Weston girls swimming teams.

Staples set a preseason goal of cracking the top 10 at the State Open championships and Weston, who won the Class S title four days earlier, is happy to see its ranks at State Open swell from previous years. The Lady Wreckers placed ninth at State Open with 219 points last Saturday at Yale University out of 47 teams and the Lady Trojans (93 points) was 19th.

“I was thrilled,” said Staples Coach Mike Laux, who was not at the meet because he was sick. “For us, the season ended at States and this was another opportunity to swim and see if we can do better. Overall, the team achieved and exceeded its goals.”

Weston Coach Tom Grace said, “The girls were spent after Class S finals and it’s another meet. It’s good to have the representation that we had. Class S schools usually don’t have the depth to do well at both State finals and State Open and if I had to choose a meet to focus on, I’d choose finals any day of the week.”

Greenwich (579.5) won and New Canaan (544) took second. Pomperaug (252) and Hall (246) and Hall placed seventh and eighth, respectively to edge the Lady Wreckers. Both teams had dominant swimmers, Elizabeth McDonald for Pomperaug and Jessie Ustjanauskas for Hall, who figured in half of their teams’ points, tipped the balance in their teams’ favor.

“We were really happy with a ninth-place finish because our goal was to come in the top 10,” Staples senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum said. “The team spirit and the support we gave each other helped us do well.”

Lady Wrecker senior captain Molly Loftus said, “That was awesome and we were excited. We had a good attitude going into Opens after coming off of Class LL.”

The Lady Trojans qualified all three relay teams, which they didn’t do in the past, and three girls swam in five individual events, another high watermark for them. From 2000-03, Weston didn’t have anyone make it to State Open.

“It’s hard for Class S schools to do well at Opens against schools like Greenwich,” Lady Trojans senior co-captain Karen Bottger said. “I was very pleased because it was a good way to end the season. We had the most girls in my time at Opens and it’s awesome to see so many [Weston] girls there. We’re progressing nicely and I couldn’t ask for a better ending.”

Lady Wrecker freshman Verity Abel was the best performer from both schools. Abel dropped .02 second from Class LL in the 100-yard backstroke and set a school record by placing second with a time of 57.59. The junior Ustjanauskas (56.85) won the 100-back.

“I was really focused on the event because it’s new to me,” Abel said. “I worked on my turns and streamlines and I looked to see where the other swimmers are.”

This isn’t Abel’s first school record. She is the record holder in the 100-yard butterfly and although she didn’t eclipse her own standard in it, she still swam well and took fourth in the 100-fly (58.05).

“I had a little more difficulty because the walls are flat and I’m not used to it,” Abel said. “I went all out and I tried to have a strong kick and maintain it throughout the race.”

Abel was a part of a third Staples record being shattered by anchoring the 400-yard freestyle relay team (3:39.44) to seventh place.

“It’s always fun and an honor to anchor it,” Abel said. “All the girls tried as hard as possible and we wanted to set the record. We breathed as little as possible and had strong kicks.”

Laux said, “It’s exciting for them to have their best race in the final event in the final meet of the year.”

Junior Gabby Wimer, sophomore Sarah Cooperman and Loftus preceded Abel.

“It feels awesome,” Wimer said. “It was a team effort and everyone did what they were supposed to do. I was nervous because it was the last event and the last event of Molly’s high school career and I wanted to do well. Having Sarah, Molly and Verity and the rest of the team cheer for me, helped.”

Cooperman said, “We were all really excited because we knew how close we were to the record. The motivation helped us go out and swim fast.”

Loftus said, “That was amazing and the best way to finish my high school career. It was our last shot and we were positive going into it. We didn’t have too much pressure in it and we figured why not, we can break the record.”

Weston took 17th in the 400-free relay with Bottger, sophomores Alex Edgar and Olivia Clark and freshman Katie Johnson.

Wimer, Nussbaum, Cooperman and Loftus powered the Lady Wrecker 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:42.66) to 10th place, a .20 improvement from Class LL (1:42.86).

“Everyone was motivated to swim and we wanted to make Mr. Laux proud and fulfill our goal for the season,” Nussbaum said.

Freshman Dacia Gross, junior Katie Ledwick, Johnson and Bottger carried Weston’s 200-free relay (1:44.45) to 17th place.

Staples senior captain Schaefer Andrews took 11th place in diving (340.20) last Friday at Hamden (held separately from swimming).

“I was really happy with what I did,” Andrews said. “I was hoping to finish 10th and I was .15 short of it, but it was a competitive meet and I felt I held my own. I tried to have fun with the meet, which helped.”

Bottger (1:56.77) and Loftus (1:58.88) placed seventh and 17th, respectively, in the 200-yard freestyle.

“I didn’t have my best time but I wasn’t bummed about it because I was more focused on Class S,” Bottger said. “I was happy with the 200-free because I only added a second to it [from the Class S championship meet].”

Loftus wasn’t pleased with her 200-free but rebounded by taking 13th in the 500-yard freestyle (5:13.55). Clark (5:19.92) and Bottger (5:21.97) were 23rd and 24th, respectively in the 500-free.

“I tried not to be focused on swims that weren’t my best because I can’t go back in time and change it,” Loftus said.

Wimer dropped .51 seconds from Class LL in the 100-yard freestyle and placed 17th (54.85) in it.

“I was happy I moved up in the rankings, which was helpful to the team,” Wimer said. “It’s my first individual event at Opens, it’s one of the fastest events and it was exciting to swim it.”

Junior Caroline Valerio, freshman Gabby LeBlanc, Abel and Nussbaum carry the 200-yard medley relay team (1:56.37) to 14th place. Weston’s 200-medley relay team of sophomore Lydia Sykes, Clark, Ledwick and Edgar took 20th (1:58.36). Clark finished 21st in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:10.69).

“It was a fun meet and a great way to end our season even though we didn’t have our coach there,” Nussbaum said. “Everyone stepped it up.”

Reprinted from the Westport News

Lady Wreckers Place Third at Class LL

By Eliot Schickler

There’s no better time to peak than at the Class LL championship. That’s where the Staples girls swimming team peaked with a third-place finish on Wednesday with 467 points in the 20-team field at Wesleyan University, 33 points away from second place.

“Where the type of team that gets better as the year progresses,” Staples Coach Mike Laux said. “We felt we could do well after trials because we did well there and got our swimmers into the right heat. Doing well at trials set us up for finals.”

Greenwich (958.5) won Class LL convincingly and no one came close to this powerhouse, who won its fifth Class LL title in six years. The Lady Cardinals returned to the top after settling for second in 2009 to Cheshire. Ironically, Cheshire moved down to Class L this year and finished second to New Canaan. Glastonbury (499.5) placed second.

Although the Lady Wreckers didn’t beat Glastonbury, they defeated Trumbull (448) and Amity (448), who were tied for fourth. Staples lost to Trumbull in the first dual meet of the year and finished behind the Lady Golden Eagles at FCIACs.

“It feels really good because we worked hard this year and I’m happy that it came together in the end,” Lady Wreckers senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum said. “I’m proud of all the girls. Going into the meet, I knew we could finish third but we had to swim well. Everyone swam well and I saw it coming.”

Senior captain Molly Loftus said, “We were very ecstatic when we found out. Everyone executed the best swims possible and everyone was supportive of each other, which made our performances possible.”

Loftus had one of those top swims by winning the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:03.44.

“I was really excited because it was my best time,” Loftus said. “I didn’t expect to go this fast. It was a pleasant surprise and I’m glad to do it for the team.”

She credits her teammates for her success.

“A big part is not only the physical aspect but having a team support you and cheering you on helps you go faster,” Loftus said.

Sophomore Sarah Cooperman (5:19.67) placed seventh in the 500-free.Also scoring in the 500-free for Staples were senior Caitlin Wiederecht (5:45.33) and senior captain Margot Bruce (5:55.96), who finished 16th and 23rd, respectively.

“We were working a lot on streamlining this week and everyone was nice and motivating, which helped me a lot,” Cooperman said.

Loftus also won her heat in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.17) and had the fourth fastest time in the meet. However, because she was in the B-heat instead of the A-heat because eight girls had better times at Class LL trials, she had to settle for a ninth-place finish.

“I was really pleased with that swim,” Loftus said. “Even though I didn’t finish fourth because of the heat, at the end of the day, I’m happy with my performance. The excitement of the meet helped.”

Cooperman (2;00.18), Nussbaum (2:04.58) and Wiederecht (2:08.34) were 10th, 18th and 23rd in the 200-free, respectively.

Freshman Verity Abel was the Lady Wreckers’ other big winner in the meet. Abel won the 100-yard backstroke (57.61) and set a Class LL record.

“I was really shooting for first place,” Abel said. “I was thrilled to swim it and I was driven to help the team get a high place overall.”

Junior Caroline Valerio (1:04.84) and sophomore Alexis Teixeira (1:05.88) placed 13th and 14th, respectively in the 100-back.

Abel also earned All-State honors in the 100-yard butterfly (57.70) by placing third and setting a new school record. Valerio (1:03.59) was 16th in the 100-fly.

“I focused mostly on the 100-fly before FCIACs but after winning the 100-back in FCIACs, I focused more on the back,” Abel said. “At States, I remembered the fly is also my event and I tried to get a best time in that.”

Senior captain Schaefer Andrews also earned All-State by taking third place in diving (354.25). Junior Michelle Mastrianni (245.80) was 16th in diving.

“It feels great to be All-State,” Andrews said. “It’s a great way to end my diving at staples. I think my key to success was a combination of hard work, concentration and the ability to have fun in the meet. Class LL is very competitive and it feels great to reach my goal of being a top three finisher.”

Andrews will be diving one last time for the Lady Wreckers as the ninth-seed in the State Open in tonight’s diving event in Hamden.

Junior Gabby Wimer grabbed fifth in the 100-yard freestyle (55.36). Nussbaum (58.00) was 16th in the 100-free.

Knowing that everyone was cheering for me and having really good turns, helped,” Wimer said.

Wimer was 12th in the 50-yard freestyle (25.70). Freshman Gabby LeBlanc took 15th in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:13.10) and 16th in the 200-yard individual medley (2:22.37).

Staples was a place short of All-State honors in the 200-yard freestyle (1:42.86) and 400-yard freestyle (3:39.61) in taking third in both events. Wimer, Nussbaum, Cooperman and Loftus place third in the 200-free relay and Wimer, Cooperman, Loftus and Abel grab the bronze in the 400-free relay.

“We had the entire team behind the blocks cheering for us and Laux was there to help us,” Loftus said. “Instead of getting nervous, we were psyched to be there and used it to our advantage.”

Teixeira, LeBlanc, Abel and sophomore Rebecca Raab carry the 200-yard freestyle relay team (1:56.80) to sixth place.

“It’s been a very rewarding season and the girls have come a long way since the beginning of the season,” Laux said.

Nussbaum said, “In the past couple of meets, Mr. Laux emphasized the importance of this meet and he motivated us to swim well at it.”

Andrews isn’t the only one competing in the State Open for the Lady Wreckers. Their swimmers will aim for a top 10 finish tomorrow at Yale University.

“We’re in very good position and we hope to carry it to State Open,” Loftus said.

Reprinted from the Westport News

Lady Wrecker Swimmers Better Than Record

By Eliot Schickler

Sometimes, a team is much better than its record. Take the Staples girls swim team as a prime example. Despite finishing its dual meet season with a 4-5 record, the Staples team is better than those numbers. The Lady Wreckers finished with that record after facing five of the seven best teams in the state, with only one easy opponent.

In fact, Staples is better than 10-1 Brookfield, who finished second in the SWC and 11-0 Pomperaug, the SWC champion. We’ll know that for sure after the class and State Open meets.

The Lady Wreckers finished below .500 because no out-of-conference team was willing to face them because they feared the outcome and they didn’t face three teams in the FCIAC.

Staples Coach Mike Laux tried to rectify this during a two-week hiatus when his team faced no one, even though he tried to schedule meets against Fairfield Warde and Fairfield Ludlowe from the FCIAC and East Lyme in a non-conference meet.

From Oct. 2-14, the Lady Wreckers had no dual meets and Ludlowe had no meets from Sept. 30-Oct. 13. Warde had only one meet in this period.

“We never had anything like this before when we had two weeks off,” Laux said. “Having the additional meets is another opportunity to qualify for States. I would have liked to have a couple more meets.” What should be mandated was that all teams in the FCIAC would be required to face each other. This way, the Lady Wreckers would have faced Ludlowe, Warde and St. Joseph and finish the dual meet season at 7-5. In most leagues, not every school has a swimming team and each team competes against each other during the regular season. This should be true in the FCIAC.

Moreover, Staples had only nine dual meets this year and in years past, it had 11 or 12 meets. If every team were required to face each other and ducking an opponent wasn’t allowed, the Lady Wreckers would have had 12 opponents, a manageable number of meets.

Being a classy team, the Staples captains don’t fault the teams that ducked their squad. If the shoe were on the other foot, none of his captains would duck an opponent and, if anything, would relish the challenge.

“In a perfect world, it would be the best thing [facing every FCIAC opponent], but it’s complicated having too many meets,” Lady Wrecker senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum said.

Staples senior captain Molly Loftus said, “I think it would be fair [if we faced everyone in the FCIAC], but it’s up to them if they want to race against us and we would have loved to race them. We don’t want to race against teams who don’t want to race us. We look forward to race against our opponents no matter who they are.”

The Lady Wreckers proved their strength by finishing sixth out of 12 teams at FCIACs last Saturday, the top half of the conference. Proof of how challenging the league is, they are confident they can finish fifth at Class LL.

“Our schedule has us swim against the top teams in the FCIAC,” Nussbaum said. “If we faced the weaker teams, we’d be better than 4-5, but swimming against the best teams prepare us for FCIACs and States. I think we’ll show how good we are at states and finish in the top five.”

Staples competes “against some really great teams and we did well against everyone, which is what counts the most,” Loftus said. “It’s always good to have a good record, but at the end of the day, what counts is what we do in championship meets and we definitely have the potential to do well in them.”

While on the subject of swimming, one other thing that needs to change is the scoring system. It’s plausible for a swimmer who completes his or her race (this includes the boys season this winter) in 59.8 seconds to finish behind someone in the standings who completed the race in 1:01.2. This doesn’t make sense according to the rules of basic math, but if someone finishes in the top eight positions at trials, they are locked into the top eight no matter what they do at finals and those in the middle eight are locked there. The rationale behind this is to make sure no one coasts at trials. This is wrong and someone with the faster time should always be placed ahead of the slower time, regardless of heat.

That’s how track is scored and this is how swimming should be scored as well — the one with the fastest time wins the race.

Reprinted from the Westport News

Lady Wrecker Swimmers Place 6th at FCIACs

By Eliot Schickler

Going into the season, the Staples girls swimming and diving team wanted to finish in the upper echelon of the FCIAC championship meet. Mission accomplished. Staples placed sixth with 168 points at Greenwich on Saturday, beating seventh-place Westhill (135) in the 12-team field but falling short to fifth-place Trumbull (203). If the scoring was determined strictly on times at the championship, the Lady Wreckers would have defeated Trumbull.

However, teams are locked into how well they can place at meet based on their performance at trials. For example, one can have the fastest time in an event at finals but if she finished anywhere from places ninth through 16th at trials, she can’t place higher than ninth, even if she defeated someone in the faster heat.

“I’m thrilled with the performance and to finish sixth in the FCIAC,” Staples Coach Mike Laux said. “I’m also thrilled we had two, first-place finishers. “We’re an end of the season team and takes us awhile to get ready.”

New Canaan (488) won convincingly for its first title since 1997. Greenwich (299) took second and was followed by Wilton (289) and Darien (255).

Freshman Verity Abel won the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 57.68 seconds. Junior Caroline Valerio was 15th in 100-back (1:04.96).

“It feels great and I never expected to do it, especially in the 100-back because I’m not a backstroker,” Abel said. “It was one of my happiest moments in my swimming career because it was an unexpected accomplishment. It came from a lot of practice. We’ve been training hard all season and it prepared us for the big meets.”

Senior captain Molly Loftus won the 500-yard freestyle (5:10.51) and sophomore Sarah Cooperman (5:22.96) placed 11th in the 500-free.

“I was really pleased with my win in the 500,” Loftus said. “I was confident going into the race that I had done all the work and training in order to compete.”

If the meet was scored by actual times, Loftus (1:58.45) would have placed fourth in the 200-yard freestyle. Because she was in the second heat, she settled for ninth place. Cooperman took 11th in the 200-free (2:01.26).

Abel placed third in the 200-yard individual medley (2:09.34).

“I was determined to do well,” Abel said. “Racing the girls was fun and you have a drive when you swim to go as fast as you can.”

Staples opened the meet with its 200-yard medley relay team (1:56.12) of sophomore Alexis Teixeira, freshman Gabby LeBlanc, Abel and junior Gabby Wimer taking eighth place. Wimer took 10th in the 50-yard freestyle (25.59) and Valerio was 16th in the 100-yard butterfly (1:03.48).

Senior Schaefer Andrews finished 12th in diving (290).

“It was a hard meet but I’m looking forward to the state meet and I hope to pull it out there,” Andrews said.

The 100-yard freestyle was another predetermined event that went against the Lady Wreckers. Wimer won her heat in the 100-free (55.43) and had the fifth fastest overall time but had to settle for ninth because she was in the second heat.

Sophomore Rebecca Raab, senior captain Stephanie Nussbaum, Cooperman and Loftus led the 200-yard freestyle relay team to (1:45.1) to ninth place and in the final event of the meet, Wimer, Nussbaum, Loftus and Abel (3:41.51) placed fourth overall.

“I thought the relay did very well,” Nussbaum said. “Molly, Verity and Gabby were all excited to earn All-FCIAC and we hope to do well at States.”

Overall, the Lady Wreckers were pleased with their performance and hope to do well at Class LL.

“I thought the team did very well and I’m proud of how everyone swam,” Nussbaum said. “It sets us up well for States.”

Laux said, “We had incredible times and it sets us up for States. Nobody shaved.”

Andrews said, “I thought everyone did a great job. Everyone swam well and we’ll do well at States.”

Loftus said, “I think the key to our success was the spirit and support we had for each other. We were by far the most enthusiastic team there and thats the true victory here. The team did so well this year at FCIACs and I couldn’t be happier with our performance. We showed up where it counted the most and I’m excited to see what we can do at states and opens.”

Reprinted from the Westport News

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