Middleboro/Whitman-Hanson girls’ high school swimming/diving head coach Sean Siciliano feels his team has “good variety” in the events as it prepares for the new season.
The Middleboro/Whitman-Hanson girls’ swimming/diving team is eager to make a splash this winter.
Five years back, in an effort to offer more females the opportunity to participate in sports at Whitman-Hanson, the school partnered with the longstanding Middleboro girls’ swimming team to form a co-op.
Swimming is one of the unique sports which focus on both individual and team results. Not only can the club qualify for the postseason, but each individual swimmer can as well based on personal times throughout the season and as part of relay teams.
Legacy
One key swimmer the club will be poised with finding a replacement for is Abigail Bailey (Whitman-Hanson). The two-time captain was tabbed a Patriot League All-Star over her final two seasons and was part of the fastest 400-yard freestyle relay team in program history, ranks eighth in the 50 freestyle and ninth in the 200 individual medley.
From Middleboro, 2015-16 Patriot League All-Stars Lauren Foley and Alyssa Lusardi boasted lustrous careers also, having both qualified for states last winter.
Each meet features a wide array of events including: the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley, 50-yard freestyle, 1-meter dive, 100-yard butterfly, 100-yard freestyle, 500-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle relay, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke and 400-yard freestyle relay. Coach Sean Siciliano said depending on the meet and the other teams’ times, swimmers will be shuffled around so they can maximize their score.
“Based on the first couple weeks, I think we will have good variety,” Siciliano said. “We have many girls that should be very versatile in multiple events, which is always helpful in swimming.”
Returning
Junior Phoebe Bonney is one returning swimmer Siciliano said he will be leaning on to have a solid season for multiple factors.
“I think that her versatility and her leadership will be huge for the team this year,” the third-year coach said.
As for newcomers, freshman Niki Kamperides has caught the eye of Siciliano thus far.
“She has shown great growth through the first couple weeks and I feel that she will be a big part of the team’s success,” Siciliano said.
After its first two contests, the club will break for the holiday and Siciliano said he always looks ahead to that next battle, which will be on Tuesday, Jan. 3 this season.
“I am looking forward to the North Quincy meet,” Siciliano said. “We have double sessions all week. Our athletes come out in amazing shape and do some great times after this week.”
W-H on deck
In addition to Bonney and Kamperides, other Whitman-Hanson swimmers on the roster include: Mary Hutchings, Maeve McDonough, Maddie Navicky, Sabrina O’Connor and Nadear Suraphanpirosh.
Middleboro/Whitman-Hanson girls’ swimming will take on Rockland Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 4:30 p.m. at Burkland Pool in Middleboro to kick off its slate of meets.
“I hope to continue to grow the program and get more girls to swim and continue to grow the great partnership that we have with Middleborough,” Siciliano said.