Gators Stung by Stingrays in First A Meet of Season

The Gators got their first taste of Division 2 on Saturday morning, and unfortunately it wasn’t as sweet as Division 3 tasted last year.  The Hunt Valley Stingrays defeated the Gators with a score of 236 to 180.  But not all was lost, as there was much to celebrate in spite of the final score.  I caught up with Team Reps, Tonda and Jim Phalen, at MVP Saturday evening and both agreed that it was a great meet with excellent Gator swims.  Hunt Valley was just faster in most age categories.  But win or lose, the Gators never disappoint their fans.  Whether it is a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner sung by Gator Anna Grace Dickerson, the spirited Gator cheers that get the team going, Gator Charlie Ruppe winning the boys 11-12 breaststroke with a cast on his arm, or seeing an MVP record fall (more on that later), there was much to be proud of last Saturday at MVP!  Plus the Gators had many excellent wins, and plenty of 2^nd and 3^rd place finishes.  I’d also like to mention that Gator dedication was perfectly demonstrated by 11 year old Colin Baxter who received a last minute call on Friday night to participate in the boys 11-12 fly and didn’t hesitate to be there for MVP on Saturday morning.

Getting fired up!

Looking good Gator girls!

Hunt Valley started strong, winning the freestyle 54 to 36.  They carried their momentum into backstroke, adding another 59 points to the Gator’s 31 points.  But the Gators fought back in the breaststroke, tying the Stingrays with 45 points for those 10 races.  Hunt Valley finished the individual races with 48 points in butterfly to the Gator’s 38.  The score was 206 to 150 in favor of the Stingrays going into relays.  Coach Paul commented after the meet that he was pleased that the Gators finished strong, taking ½ of the relays and 30 points.

Speaking of the relays, the 13-14 year old girls broke a two year old MVP record in the 100 meter medley relay.  Abby Dittman, Taylor Makin, Gabrielle Greszler, and Sheridan Phalen swam a time of 1:02.09, breaking the previous MVP record of 1:02.94 set in July 2014.  Congrats ladies on an awesome race!

Record-setters in action!

We did it!

The races of the week go to Juliette Fore and Nick Dupuis.  Juliette edged out her Stingray opponent by .04 seconds in the backstroke.  Nick’s breaststroke race was even closer, as he touched the wall .01 seconds ahead of his Hunt Valley opponent. That’s as close as it gets folks!

Juliette was in fine form on Saturday!

Nick was determined to win this one! (by .01 seconds!)

The one Gator sweep came in event 13 – boys 9-10 backstroke.  Donovan Kovalsky touched the wall first, Tyler Swartz came in 2^nd, and George Schulte rounded out the sweep in 3^rd place. 

Individual Gator winners included Donovan Kovalsky (free and back), Sheridan Phalen (free), Jessie Bricker (free and fly), Gavin Moore (back), Juliette Fore (back). Charlie Ruppe (breaststroke), Emily Makin (breaststroke and fly), Nick Dupuis (breaststroke), Taylor Makin (breaststroke), Kevin Adams-Mardi (breaststroke), Sean Kovalsky (fly), Tyler Swartz (fly), and Brian McNamara (fly).

Charlie can't be slowed down...even with a cast!

Second place points were earned by Liam Garvey (free), Ginny Grubb (free and fly), Juliette Fore (free), Nick Dupuis (free), Kevin Adams-Mardi (free). Parker Fulghum (free and back), Monica Morales (back), Tyler Swartz (back), Brian McNamara (back), Shaan Nagda (breaststroke), Amelia Adams (breaststroke), Jack Dupuis (breaststroke), Caroline Baker (breaststroke), Sarah Jones (breaststroke), and Matthew Makin (fly).

Third place points were taken by Jack Dupuis (free), Charles Bradburn (free and back), Gabrielle Greszler (free and fly), George Schulte (back), Gus Leyden (back), Anna Fracasso (back and fly), Alexander North (breastroke), Elizabeth Moorman (breaststroke), James Piland (breaststroke and fly), Olivia Heck (breaststroke), Elaina Phalen (breaststroke), Amelia Adams (fly), Caroline Miller (fly), Andrew Baker (fly), and Cole Miller (fly).

Our next A meet is this Saturday against the 1-0 Hamlet Green Feet at MVP. Good luck Gators!