Lady Wrecker swimmers place third at Class LL

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.