The Holliston High School Swimming and Diving team has kicked off its 2009-2010 season in a new fashion. After many years as a member of the Dual County League, Holliston now joins a new co-ed league started by the Tri Valley League (TVL). The new TVL swim league is comprised of teams from Holliston, Ashland, Hopkinton, Dover Sherborn / Medfield, and Norton. Different from the DCL, which had the majority of swim meets as dual meets (boys vs. boys and girls vs. girls), the new TVL is holding co-ed meets, where both boys and girls compete together. This provides unique challenges and opportunities, as 3rd year coach Brian Porter and his 1st year assistant coach Charlotte Rae must balance boys and girls and place them in the most appropriate event to maximize points for the team while still creating opportunities for the athletes to improve their skills and try to qualify for post-season championship events.
With 39 athletes, including 29 sophomore and freshmen, the HHS swim program is beginning to grow in numbers. This is good news for the future of the HHS Swim Program.
The team is led by senior captains Julie Beauchemin and Matt Flynn. Both Julie and Matt, along with senior Stephanie Ydoate and sophomores Rachel Dinehart and Christina Belforti, qualified for post season championship meets last season and will provide experience and leadership this year to the underclassmen. Returning senior lettermen Troy Hutchinson and Chloe Chen-Kraus are steady point providers for the team again this year. Flynn currently holds the HHS school record in 1 meter diving, and is the first HHS athlete to qualify for this year’s post-season state championships.
The junior class is led by David Kreigsman and Sam Wolpert, with returning teammates Melissa Bennie and Maeve Norton. Cheynna Crowley is serving as the team manager this season as she recovers from an injury.
The depth of the team starts with the 16 sophomores. Returning letter winners Haley Bouley, Marshall Cohen, Conor Doyle, Hannah Driscoll, Brianna Fierro, Ariel Holman, Jameson Luskay, Duncan Robertson, and Taylor Savage are joined by a good group of first time teammates Elana Cole, Kendall Klein, Lisa Paecht, Peter Skarmeas and Alyssa Venderbeek.
Rounding out the team are the 13 freshman, some of whom bring swimming experience from club teams and have made immediate impact to the team. The freshmen are Carolyn Banak, Kierra Collins, Olena Cook, Brittany Cuevas, Liam Delaney, Teddy Flynn, Ryan McGee, Danielle Potremi, Amanda Ray, Mali Rose, Evan Vasilaukas, Cody Veidelis, and May Yawakawa. Banak and McGee have already won individual events in their just starting HHS experience.
Coach Porter swam for Holliston during his high school years, where he holds the HHS records in the 50 Yard Freestyle and the 100 Yard Butterfly. He also swam in college at UMASS. In addition to assisting Coach Porter with the swimmers, Assistant Coach Charlotte Rae provides a new expertise to the team. Charlotte is a former springboard diver, having competed in college at Brandeis University. With the returning divers of Flynn and Hutchinson being seniors, Coach Rae is working with new divers Lisa Paecht and Mali Rose to ensure the team continues to compete in the diving events in years to come.
The team practices at Keefe Tech, and home meets are also held at Keefe Tech. The 8 regular season meets are held through February 4th, followed by the TVL championships on February 8. Those swimmers and divers who meet qualification standards are eligible for further tournaments, including the MIAA Sectional Tournaments held February 13-14 at MIT, and the State Tournaments, held February 20-21 at Harvard. Further information on the Holliston Swim team can be found at the Swimming and Diving home sports page on the Holliston Athletic Boosters Association (HABA) website http://www.hollistonhaba.com/Pages/Sports/Swimming/sports_Swimming_Diving.html
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