Lady Wreckers nip Westhill

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."