Cassidy Bayer sets her 2nd NAG -- 100 fly!

Cassidy's record-breaking form.

On Friday night, Cassidy Bayer set her second 11-12 National Age Group (NAG) record in less than a month, this time in the 100 fly.  Cassidy is now the fastest American 11-12 year old girl to swim both the 100 and the 200 long course butterfly.  Her time knocked Olympic gold medalist Dana Vollmer out of the record books (well, for the 100 fly).

Vollmer tweeted her congrats:

Dana Vollmer ‏@danavollmer

Congrats to Cassidy Bayer on taking down my 11-12 NAG Record in the 100 fly with a 1:02.3! It held for 12 yrs- proud of you girl! 

We'll post more details once the record is official.

Gators Take Second At Divisional Relay Carnival

The Hunt Valley Stingrays showed they are the tops in Division 4, presaging their win in the dual meet on Saturday, by winning the Division Relay Carnival with 220 points.  MVP took second place with 188 points, followed by Mosby Woods (150), Fox Mill Woods (142), and Dunn Loring/Pinecrest (tied at 132).

"That felt fast!"

Hunt Valley's 220 points was second most of any Relay Carnival winner out of the 17 NVSL divisions (Rolling Forest scored 222 in Division 12, to provide you with information you absolutely do not need to know or care about).  Only two second place teams scored more than MVP's 188 points, which means the Gators are among the best of the second best (how's that for spin!).

The Gators won six of the 22 relay races, took three second place finishes, and earned five third place scores.  So, overall, Gator relay teams finished in the top half of the division in 14 of the 22 races.  There were five team records set, including another NVSL record!  (See related story)

Juliette helps the 8 and under girls to 1st place.

First place finishes were logged by the 8 & under girls 100 meter medley relay (Cage Theriot, Juliette Fore, Emily Makin, and Cecilia Morales), the 11-12 girls 100 meter medley relay (Cassidy Bayer, Holly Jansen, Emma Jones, and Elaina Phalen), the 13-14 girls 200 meter medley relay (Torie Bolger, Sarah Jones, Anna Fracasso, and Jessie Bricker), the 8 & under boys 100 meter free relay (James Piland, George Pacious, Connor Dunn, and Charlie Ruppe), the 11-12 girls 100 meter free relay (Holly Jansen, Emma Jones, Elaina Phalen, and Cassidy Bayer), and the 13-14 girls 200 meter free relay (Mollie Passacantando, Torie Bolger, Anna Fracasso, and Jessie Bricker).

Parker sez: "Let's swim fast, Andrei!"

Second place showing were earned by the 9-10 boys 100 meter medley relay (Andrei Zaitsev, Brian McNamara, Parker Blondin, and Clark Bayer), the 8 & under girls 100 meter free relay (Cage Theriot, Juliette Fore, Cecilia Morales, and Emily Makin), and the 9-10 boys 100 meter free relay (Andrei Zaitsev, Clark Bayer, Brian McNamara, and Joseph Ienzi).

Third place points were garnered by the Mixed Age girls 200 meter free relay  (Cassidy Bayer, Sheridan Phalen, Jessie Bricker, and Sara Bertram), the 9-10 girls 100 meter medley relay (Mac Brotherton, Lily Penn, Olivia Blondin, and Sheridan Phalen), the 15-18 girls 200 meter medley relay (Sara Bertram, Jayne Orleans, Jessica Metter, and Leigh Orleans), the 11-12 boys 100 meter free relay (Cameron Morey, Sean Jansen, Sam McBroom, and Dom Heratsch), and the 15-18 girls 200 meter free relay (Leigh, Jessica, Jayne, and Sara).

David Anderson's Photos from Mansion House

A lot of good ones before darkness fell:

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/MVPAtMansionHouse2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCMTTte304oH_Tw&feat=email

Divisional Relay Carnival Haiku

Relays thrash records

Primal grunts ring at Primos

Cholesterol soars

(by Karl Metter)

Photos From Pinecrest A Meet

The photos are by Rita Bertram.  David Anderson did the editing.  Glen Bolger did the really hard work of posting the link.

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/PinecrestAtMVP2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCLKatcy16eedvAE&feat=email

Edited Photos From Green & White Meet

While we posted an earlier link to the Green & White meet photos, here they are after David Anderson was able to edit them, so there's a bit more pop in the colors. 
https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/GreenAndWhite2012Edited?authkey=Gv1sRgCMqQvpzu5_WdhgE&feat=email

Monday Night's Mansion House Meet

by B Meet special correspondent, Lauren Cardillo

If there are kickboards on the menu, you know it’s the annual Mansion House vs. MVP developmental swim meet. Several waves of tiny kickboarders hit the lanes this past Monday.

Among the swimmers earning a first place blue ribbon in their heat were: Colby Webber, Russell Dale, Donovan Brotherton, Matthew Makin, Mollie and Ben Rutherford, Lily Palmerino, Caroline Miller, Katya Zaitsev, Annie Terwilliger, Paige Humphreys, Carl Questad, Kahil and Cameron Mulla, Dylan Moore, Bella van Damme, Ceci Theriot, Leigh Kovalsky, Parker Fulghum, Grace McGee,  Katie Whalen, Ripley Vaughan, Kenneth Krogh, Cecelia Morales, and Greta and Noah Hannam.

Swimmers dropping more than 3 seconds off their personal bests included Donovan Brotherton, Matthew Makin, Liam O’Brien, Ceci Theriot, Simone Burdick, Charlotte Fischer, Cassandra Burdick, William Cruz, Joseph Humphreys, William Gunter, Sophia Huertas, Kenneth Krogh, Cecelia Morales, TJ Heck, Abby Dittman, Greta Hannam, Nicole Booth, Tierney Offringa, Leigh Kovalsky, and Carl Questad. Topping the chart --  six year old Morgan Swetz who dropped a mighty 16 seconds in the 25 free.

The youngest swimmers to brave the waters were 4 year old Monica Morales and Charlotte Fisher. Congrats to them!

The last B meet of the season is this coming Monday night at Riverside Gardens.

Dana Vollmer, Cassidy Bayer, Missy Franklin

That's the order of names on the National Age Group (NAG) record holders for 11-12 girls.  Vollmer, Bayer, Franklin.  Nationwide.  As in, "She's bad.  She's Nationwide."  (apologies to ZZ Top).

Cassidy Bayer's NAG is official.  She's listed between the 100 fly record holder, the famous Dana Vollmer, and the 200 IM record holder for her age group, some girl named "Missy Franklin."  Not bad company (nor "Bad Company," another reach for a reference to 70s rock).

Congrats to Cassidy!  She now has one NAG and three NVSL records.

Check it out here:
http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/eb9556f7-31fe-4f52-9a96-784f5421ab69/USA%20SWIMMING%20NATIONAL%20A.G.%20RECORDS.L.C.pdf

and here:

http://www.usaswimming.org/_Rainbow/Documents/c344ff5d-d758-48c8-87ab-3b4374818461/NAG%20LC%20Grid%20-%202011-2012.pdf

Fans of the NVSL will note that Isabella Rongione also broke a NAG that same day as Cassidy, the 800 free.  Rongione swims for McLean on summer Saturdays.  Bayer is easier to spell though, so I'm glad she's the Gator!

Boys Turn Girls Green with Envy, Winning a Close Meet

by special blog correspondent Lauren Skopp-Cardillo

With the chants of “Recount” in the air the boys were finally declared the winners in the annual Green and White meet this past Monday at MVP.  A close race – decided by 2 points -- 130 to 128 – it featured plenty of first time swimmers and personal bests.

Four and five year olds hitting the waves for the first time were Gregory Sullivan, Charlie Bruce, Will Milito, Noah Webber, Gavin Fore, George Schulte, Alex Huertas, Elisabeth Whitson, Monica Morales, Jill Humphreys, Ceci Theriot, Simone Burdick, Charlotte Fischer, and Madeline Cullo. Three cheers also to three-year-old Tommy Kelly who finished his debut race.

Among the heat winners (and there could be no other kind in these temperatures): Colby Webber, John French, Donovan Kovalsky, Lucas Garvey, Jack Dupuis, Gavin Fore, Caroline Miller, Bella van Damme, Ella Fischer, Elisabeth Whitson, Gabby Cullo, Giovanni Marcucci, Ben Rutherford, Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Annie Terwilliger, Lara Miller, MaryClare O’Brien, Cole Snodgrass, Mark Weil. Austin Neal, Joe Humphreys, Connor Bruce, Antonio Marcucci, Lily Palmerino, Kate Babiuch, Rose Doerner, Kelly Riley, Olivia Johansson, Carter Engvall, Will Freidman, and Charlie Ruppe.

While it may not be easy being green, big personal bests were achieved at the meet. Those besting their last times by more than 3 seconds were: Colby Webber, Elijah Hope, William Cruz, Ethan Brunton, Matthew Foley, Jack Ward, Michael Weinraub, Bella and Elena van Damme, Ella Fisher, Abby and Ethan Tynan, Gabby Cullo, Cassandra Burdick, Samantha and Halen Anderson, Will Freidman, Kai Gibson, Donovan Kovalsky, Lucas Garvey, Dylan Moore, Michael Weinraub, Juliana Skopp-Cardillo, Tess Moore, Charlie Ruppe, Ken Krogh, and Boede Offringa. And finally, goggles off to Antonio Marcucci who cut a whopping 18 seconds from his backstroke time.

Thanks to all the volunteers were worked the meet; there were more than 70 heats in all.

Next B meet, Mansion House Monday night. Temperatures expected to be in the balmy high 80s.

Pinecrest Haiku

Day hot as Hades
Records fall like power lines
Gators win their third.

MVP Wins Battle Of Sharp-Tooth Creatures With Powerful Jaws You Would Never Want to Meet in the Wild

The MVP Gators marched on toward next Saturday's battle of the undefeated Division 4 teams by taking a bite out of the Pinecrest Piranhas by a 253-167 score.  The Gators move to 3-0 and will host the 3-0 Hunt Valley Stingrays in the biggest swim sporting event of the year (with the possible exception of the London Olympics).

Once again, the Gators won all four strokes, posting a 57-33 win in freestyle.  MVP topped that with a 60-30 win in backstroke to push the lead to 117-63 after the two strokes.  Breaststroke was much closer at 49-41, but still MVP took the stroke.  The closest stroke was butterfly, a 47-43 win for the Gators.  At that point, the score was 213-147, and MVP had already won the meet (it takes 211 points to win -- 210 is a tie and 209 is a loss).

The Gators won nine out of twelve relays, and looked ready for the Divisional Relays this Wednesday night at Mosby Woods.

MVP had an amazing seven sweeps (great, more for me to type!).  The 9-10 boys got the party started in freestyle with a sweep by Nick Dupuis, Andrei Zaitsev, Clark Bayer.  The same age group swept back, led by Andrei, and joined by Joseph Ienzi and Nicky McBroom.  The girls started sweeps with the 15-18 backstroke, led by Anna Fracasso and joined by Julia Benson and Kaila Stein.  Anna is 14 and Kaila is 13, so it was a swim-up sweep.  The 9-10 boys swept breaststroke too, led by Parker Blondin, Joseph Ienzi, and Ben Rutherford. 

The 8 & under boys swept butterfly, thanks to Connor Dunn, Kenny Krogh, and Boede Offringa.  The 9-10 boys swept fly thanks to Nick Dupuis, Parker Blondin, and Clark Bayer.  The 15-18 girls closed out the final sweep on the final individual event of the day, as Sara Bertram, Emily Walzl, and Leigh Orleans did the honors (Emily was also swimming up).

For those reading closely, the 9-10 boys won every point possible -- 36 out of 36 in individual events, plus another 5 in the relay -- for a total of 41 points from that group.  Pretty darn impressive.

Gator heroes who swam up were plentiful on Saturday -- 12 year old Dom Heratsch swam 13-14 free, 14 year old Sarah Jones in 15-18 free, 12 year old Liam Orr in 13-14 backstroke, 14 year old Anna Fracasso and 13 year old Kaila Stein in 15-18 back, 12 year old Noah Hannam in 13-14 breaststroke and 13-14 fly, 10 year old Nicky McBroom in 11-12 fly, 12 year old Ian Neal in 13-14 fly, and 14 year old Emily Walzl in 15-18 fly.  Juliette Fore also gets hero nod -- she had been throwing up on Friday after being sick most of the week, but insisted on swimming, and took first in breaststroke.

The race of the week was turned in by Jessie Bricker.  She took first in 50 freestyle by just 0.08 seconds ahead of the Pinecrest swimmer.  (Race of the week is determined by the closest MVP win over an opposing swimmer.)  Three other freestyle races were close -- Cage Theriot, Holly Jansen, and Kevin Adams-Mardi all held off their opposition by 0.35 seconds.

Double Gator winners were Nick Dupuis (free and fly), Cameron Morey (free and back), Holly Jansen (free and breaststroke), Sara Bertram (free and fly), and Cassidy Bayer (back and fly).

Single Gator winners were James Piland (free), Cage Theriot (free), Kevin Adams-Mardi (free), Jessie Bricker (free), Kenny Krogh (back), Andrei Zaitsev (back), Mac Brotherton (back), Torie Bolger (back), Anna Fracasso (back), Charlie Ruppe (breaststroke), the aforementioned Juliette Fore (breaststroke), Parker Blondin (breaststroke), Sarah Jones (breaststroke), Jayne Orleans (breaststroke), Connor Dunn (fly), and Emily Makin (fly).   Overall, Gators won 26 out of 40 races.

Second place points were scored by Charlie Ruppe (free), Andrei Zaitsev (free), Sheridan Phalen (free), Sarah Jones (free), Connor Dunn (back), Emily Makin (back), Joseph Ienzi (back and breaststroke), Kevin Adams-Mardi (back), Molly Cabral (back), Cyrus Adams-Mardi (back), Julia Benson (back), Will Friedman (breaststroke), Lily Penn (breaststroke), Kaila Stein (breaststroke), Leigh Orleans (breaststroke), Kenny Krogh (fly), Parker Blondin (fly), Olivia Blondin (fly), Anna Fracasso (fly), and Emily Walzl (fly).  The Gators earned second place points in 21 out of 40 races.

Third place points were earned by Clark Bayer (free and fly), Mac Brotherton (free), Sean Jansen (free and breaststroke), Mollie Passacantando (free), Cyrus Adams-Mardi (free), Cage Theriot (back), Nicky McBroom (back), Taylor Makin (back), Kaila Stein (back), Ben Rutherford (breaststroke), Sheridan Phalen (breaststroke), Josh Stein (breaststroke), Boede Offringa (fly),  Abigail Dittman (fly), Liam Orr (fly), Emma Jones (fly), Mollie Passacantando (fly), and Leigh Orleans (fly).  Overall, MVPers took 20 out of 40 third place points. 

Next on the agenda -- the battle of the undefeateds.

Swimmers of the Week -- Kevin Adams-Mardi and Sarah Jones

Last week's winners were a pair of 9-10 year olds.  This week it is a pair of 13-14 years -- this is not a trend, just a blip.

Kevin Adams-Mardi receives the Gator boy swimmer of the week honors for setting the backstroke record (scroll down for related article) and winning freestyle against a very strong opponent.

Sarah Jones earned the Gator girl swimmer of the week honors for taking second place in the 15-18 freestyle race as a 14 year old, and also taking first place in her specialty race, the 13-14 breaststroke.

Congrats to both.

All-Star Cuts

Well, in an effort to keep things interesting on the Gator Blog, I'm adding a new article -- props to swimmers who make All-Star cuts with a swim that week. 

Cautionary notes -- All-Star times move each season -- this cuts are only based on last year's All-Star times.  And, it doesn't matter what you do during the season -- relay teams can ONLY make All-Star Relays based on their times at Divisional Relays, and individual swimmers can ONLY make Individual All-Stars based on their times at Divisional Champs.  That said, it is neat to see, and hopefully will provide added motivation to those swimmers.  Other Gators are right on the bubble too.

Here are swims from Saturday under the All-Star cut:
Nick Dupuis, free
Sheridan Phalen, free
Cameron Morey, free and back
Holly Jansen, free and breaststroke
Emily Makin, back and fly
Cage Theriot, back
Cassidy Bayer, back and fly
Kevin Adams-Mardi, back
Sara Bertram, fly
8 & under boys relay
8 & under girls relay
9-10 boys relay
11-12 boys relay
11-12 girls relay
Girls Mixed Age freestyle relay

* The 13-14 year olds swim a 100 relay on Saturdays, and a 200 relay at divisional relays/All-Stars.  So, there is no way to compare their Saturday times with Wednesday times, BUT bet on the 13-14 girls to make it. 

Four New Team Records Set, and an NVSL Meet

Gator team records fell fast and furious at Saturday's A Meet against Pinecrest.  It was a good day for team records, as Pinecrest swimmers also broke four team records.  But, enough about the Piranhas!

The first team record fell in the girls 11-12 50 meter backstroke, as Cassidy Bayer (shocking!) crushed her old team record from way back in 2011, with a time of 31.55.  The old mark was 32.44. 

Cassidy heated up the lane, because in the very next race, Kevin Adams-Mardi broke a nine year old record in the 13-14 boys 50 meter backstroke.  Steven Berry set the old record of 32.18 in 2003 (I know -- I was there).  Today Kevin knocked it down to a 32.02.  He'll have several opportunities to knock it down even more.

Cassidy smacked down her 11-12 girls 50 meter NVSL record in butterfly, which she first broke last year, then again the first meet of this season.  Cassidy didn't come close to breaking her record last week (because she was out of town and didn't swim), but made up for not breaking her own record last week by swimming a 28.74, down from 29.19. 

(Just so no one is confused, Cassidy's fly is so fast at 28.74 that she is just 0.04 seconds off of tieing Janet Hu's NVSL record for 13-14 year olds!  Cassidy's time is faster than the Gator boys 13-14 record, and the Gator girls 13-14 and 15-18 records -- and those are all pretty fast!  Oh, and the boys 11-12 50 meter butterfly record?  That's Philip Hu with a 28.81, which makes Cassidy the fastest 11-12 butterflier in NVSL history regardless of gender.)

The 11-12 girls medley relay broke their team record set two weeks ago by 0.09 seconds.  The fearsome foursome have their sights set on the NVSL record of 1:02.21, and at 1:02.83, it is certainly within the realm of possibility.  Cassidy Bayer (backstroke), Holly Jansen (breaststroke), Emma Jones (fly) and Elaina Phalen (free) set the record today that Cassidy, Holly, Emma, and Claudia Theriot set two weeks ago.

Directions to Mansion House

Take the GW Parkway South to Mt. Vernon.  Stay to the left at the circle (there can be traffic there, so actually give yourself five extra minutes) and take Mt. Vernon Memorial Highway. 

Turn left at first light onto Old Mt. Vernon Road.  As you pass ye olde gate to Mt. Vernon, look through to Mt. Vernon, it's one of the coolest views in the Washington area. 

Mansion House is on the left just past Riverwood Road.

Mansion House Swim, Dive & Tennis Club9321 Old Mt. Vernon Road  ~  Alexandria, VA  22309  ~  703.780.6485 

Karl Metter's Haiku

Derecho has gone

The sun roasts large and small

Icy resolve sharpens

Green & White Meet Photos

https://picasaweb.google.com/114682110635489328722/GreenWhite2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCLbpwO7pld7QjwE&feat=email

Green & White Meet Haiku

The sexes battle.
The boys win by a beard hair.
Though most do not shave.

Another Record Broken!

The 11-12 boys relay team swam so fast on Sunday that we didn't even see it!  They crushed their week old record by more than one second, but because of a technical glitch, the record did not get noticed till Monday night.

Not noticing the record doesn't make it any less impressive.  On June 23, the boys swam a 1:09.43 to break a record from 1976.  Eight days later, the same fearsome foursome swam a 1:08.04 to knock 1.39 off the mark.

Sam finishes off the record setting relay.

Congratulations to Cameron Morey (back), Sean Jansen (breaststroke), Cole Miller (fly), and Sam McBroom (free) for not just beating the record, but shattering it.

Sean dives in on Cameon's finish

(For those interested in why the record was missed, the records file was messed up on the computer.  Thus, the meet sheets had the old record on it, so we weren't even looking at it since we knew it was wrong.  That said, of the concerns I have as Team Rep, missing a new team record is one of them, so I would have preferred to skip this problem altogether!)

Fox Mill Woods Haiku

Dark and stormy night.
Gator homes had no power.
Gators had power.