Sussex Academy girls’ swimming remains undefeated
Swimming in their first meet in more than a month, the girls of Sussex Academy continued their quest for an undefeated regular season with a 119-50 win over Caesar Rodney. The boys’ squad came up just short, 86-84 at the Jan. 21 meet at the Dover YMCA.
“We had a great schedule lined up for this season that Mother Nature decided to do a little bit different for us,” said coach Tom Martiner. “I’m very proud of the kids and how they responded to it.”
“It's definitely hard, but it's good once you're done and you get to have fun with the team in the locker room,” said Victoria Evans.
Although the boys' side won nine of 11 events, they could not get the secondary finishes that helped propel the Riders to victory. The girls, on the other hand, filled up the ranks with Seahawks for their 48th regular-season win in a row. This streak began following a loss to CR nearly five years ago.
“So much of swimming really does boil down to the depth of the team,” Martiner said. “It's great to have stars, but it's the No. 2 and the No. 3 swimmers that really, really make it for me.”
“I think particularly about Camilla Figueroa, who had some great swims today, as well as Victoria Evans trying a couple of different events,” Martiner said.
“The team camaraderie is just great; that really pushes me,” Evans said. “All my friends being there, cheering me on, I feel like we do a really good job with that, especially when we do that woosh thing – that's really fun. Win or lose, we always have a great time.”
Evans dominated in the backstroke.
“That's kind of been my thing; I used to be a flyer, but now I'm a backstroker, and that's really the thing that I've stuck with,” Evans said.
While the girls pulled away with every event that passed, more than doubling the Riders' point total, the boys had to wait until the end to learn their fate.
Trailing by nearly a half lap in the 400 relay, senior Matthew Perchiniak worked to get his team in position to win with just Christian Wright to go. The junior earnestly waited for Perchiniak to tap the wall before exploding into the water like a torpedo on a mission. Wright left no doubt, but the Riders secured second and third for an 86-84 victory.
“It was so exciting to see the boys come back like that,” Evans said. “Everybody cheering just adds so much more motivation.”
“Even though at the end of the day, the boys had fewer points than the CR boys had, I'm very proud of them,” Martiner said. “Some of the times and some of the swims were the best swims for the whole season, [so] there's no reason to hang their heads down low.”
Confidence will be key for both teams as the Seahawks welcome Cape at 3:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 27.
