Back to Archive List Tidalwaves rolled into Strawberry Saturday morning, but the Seals were able to carve out their second consecutive victory at "The Rock." With a week off from competition due to the Memorial Holiday, the coaches continued to instill a strong work ethic in the swimmers testing their physical and mental toughness. The Seals responded with great fortitude. After two weeks of streamlines, flipturns, drills, sprints and several sets of pushups, the team celebrated with another well-attended pep rally which unveiled the Strawberry Designed Swim Caps. The meet conditions were far from "epic"; in fact, the start was "totally gnarly" due to some technical difficulties. Our Tidalwave friends showed such great patience and sportsmanship as we crawled through the events during the day. Thankfully, the tunes prevented the day from dragging too much. The Patino boys were not the only twins present as Craig Dykman blessed us, or maybe subjected us to the music of the one hit wonder, "Thompson Twins." While the meet was slow, the swimmers ripped through the waters posting many "Q" times and best times, ultimate rewards for their weeks of hard work. This meet wrap up cannot come close to capturing all of the team contributions and personal accomplishments, but will highlight a few of them.

Breaking the Barrier
Caroline Quill, Ruby Saltzman, and Ethan Zener had outstanding days breaking through the two minute barrier in the Indvidual Medley and posting three best times.

Today's Seal Pup is Tomorrow's Superstar
Annelie "Where did she come from" Miller is proof positive that new seals can quickly become superstars for the seals. Last year she swam with the beginners and this year she is anchoring the freestyle relay team for the 8 and unders. She is easily recognizable in her trademark sage-green colored swim cap. Annelie knifes through the water with enviable stroke efficiency. Several newcomers appear to be following in her footsteps making rapid progress including Kyra Carney and Tala Tarrant. Ms. Tarrant finished the day with three best times taking over three seconds off her backstroke and over four seconds on her breaststroke. Although only seven, Jada Andrews is a three year veteran and she had a big day posting the fastest freestyle and improving on the fly. Julia Forshan was another recipient of the 3 best times award. Nora Riedinger also swam exceptionally with a heat win in the breaststroke and a strong performance in freestyle.

Answering the Call of Duty
Despite losing Annie Whalen to the 11-12 age group, many of the 9-10 girls carried the load in her absence. McKenzie Cooke stepped it up this week capturing first place and a "Q" time in the Butterfly. Devin Dykman also landed a "Q" time and added some points in the Butterfly Event. In backstroke, birthday girl Sabrina Haechler, led the charge and Ruby Saltzman improved her best time by ten seconds. Mara Pulgram, Trinity Dohoney, Lizzy Labeew-Anderson and Megan Potter also had noteworthy performances. The 9-10 girls hit the trifecta (3 best times) more than any other group including Estelle Boo, Jasmine Fairchild, Maya Homsy King, and Ruby.

Our 9-10 boys are well-known for their feisty competitive spirit and they were not going to be outdone by the girls. Curtis Klopfer, Alex Mortimer, Zack Glenn, and Jimmy Thomas made a habit of either capturing the top two events or sweeping the heats all day long. While the girls landed a greater number of best times, the boys are the title winners this week for most consistent and highest point contribution per heat. Both of Vern's boys were newsworthy throughout the day. Zack swam a wonderful freestyle leg for the B relay passing the Waves A relay to secure second. Both Zack and Jake Glenn finished with 3 best times.

Girls from the Hood
Haley Book, a Corte Madera resident, must have been inspired by her neighborhood friends and classmates on the Tidalwaves. She had an extraordinary day with three best times. Haley is one of the rare swimmers who performs well in both Breaststroke and Butterfly. The versatile Haley demolished her previous best times in those events and exhibited her durability by taking almost four seconds off her Individual Medley.

A Seal Buddy's Dilemma
Alex Mortimer's allegiances were torn on Saturday. He was put in a tough decision of deciding to cheer for his brother Kyle or his seal buddy Mason Grant in an adorable backstroke race. The two little buddies gave it their all and broke through one minute in the race.

The Red and Black Badge of Courage
Stealing from author Stephen Crane, the "Red and Black Badge of Courage" goes to Christina Watridge who swam in a lot of pain due to a hand injury. Despite the pain, she added points in the backstroke.

Wasn't Backstroke our Achilles Heel?
The extra reps of backstroke appear to be paying off especially with the 11-12 age group which captured top spots in that event in most of the heats. Nicky Chan and Cooper Bontz finished first and second in the first heat. Luca Osburn and Joseph Russell did the same in the second heat. Jack Dunkle Rogosin, Travis Allen, and Josh Lovejoy swept the third heat. Jack Dunkle Rogosin was a standout performer in his age group; "Rogo" captured three best times with considerable improvement in his breastroke.

For the 11-12 girls, Madeline Hess won her backstroke heat and finished the day with three best times. Isabella Renner also had a big day with three best times. Also noteworthy for the 11-12 girls, Abigail Hassett took over eight seconds off her IM time.

Work Hard and the Sky's the Limit
Zach Cohen has shown considerable improvement from last year. He takes his craft very seriously even working out on his own or with his dad during the off-season. His efforts have been paying off this year. He won the 50 freestyle and Individual Medley and was just touched out in the fly. Skylar Calandra swam his fastest IM of the year taking off six seconds against the Waves. The Patino twins, Gabriel and Daniel also continued to make solid contributions throughout the day. Also in the 13-14 boys, Shane Allen had a great day with three best times.

For the girls, Greta Schatz finished first in her respective heats of Breaststroke and Butterfly. She also landed a "Q" time in Breast Stroke. Bridget Lowry and Isabella Renner finished with three best times.

The Return of Miss Butterfly
Riley Ford returned this week and showed no rust winning all three of her events. As a record holder in the fly, Riley is well renowned for her proficiency in that stroke. She also powered her way to victory in the Freestyle and IM. The 15-18 girls consistently offer some of the most exciting races and Saturday was not an exception. Spectators also get to see a contrast in styles. While Riley generates a lot of force in the water, Ali Coopersmith, Kristen Sato, and Katherine Takeshita are more poetry in motion. The always affable and accommodating Ali Coopersmith not only picked up considerable points in her three events, but also helped out the coaches with some of the younger swimmers. Many of the young girls really appreciated the attention she provided. The 15-18 breast stroke was one of the most exciting events. Kristen Sato tooks the blue ribbon but was pushed hard by fellow Seal Caitlin Firmage who finished with a Q time.

The lane ropes almost appear to cringe at the sight of Taylor Gamboa and Nick Patino. The ropes buckled often as the two crushed through their respective lanes. Taylor won all of his events on Saturday. Nick took the blue ribbon in the breast stroke and IM.

Happy Birthday
Sabrina Haechler and Chloe Carney celebrated birthdays last weekend. Karina Kristensen, Jake Buxton, Robert Placak have birthdays during the week of practice. Jackson Culhane gets to open his presents the day of next week's meet. Rogo (Jack Dunkle Rogosin) opens his gifts on Sunday.

More Troubled Waters
So the Strawberry Seals were able to navigate through the Tidalwaves, but there are more turbulent waters ahead as we take a trek to the big pool at IVC to take on the Novato Riptide. Cowabunga Dude!