LIAC Seniors Shine at MLK

The annual MLK meet was a big success for many of our Senior Swimmers. There were lots of best times, new cuts, and even a few first place finishes in our group. Way to go Seniors!

Swimmer of the meet honors go to Whitney Sun and Brian Klotsche. Both of these swimmers have improved their efforts in practice tremendously over the past few months and it was exciting to see all of their hard work pay off. Whitney had a perfect meet, dropping time in every event she swam. She placed 2nd in both the 100 and 50 freestyle events and 3rd in the 100 fly and 100 backstroke. She was also a valuable member of LIAC’s winning 200 freestyle relay on Sunday. Way to go Whit! Brian was almost perfect, with best time in 6 of 7 events. In one of his first meets as a 13 year old he dropped more than 18 seconds over the course of the weekend and made his first two Silver cuts along the way. Congrats Brian!

There were a lot of other outstanding swims from LIAC’s Seniors. Friday night Meaghan, Peter, Carly, David, and Erjin were awesome in the 500 free… they dropped 39, 27, 27, 30, and 30 seconds respectively! Caroline also had a stunning 500 free, breathing every 3 the entire way to her best time by more than 6 seconds. Justin dropped 5 seconds in his 400 IM and earned a 4th place finish for his efforts. Aidan continued his streak of strong performances with a phenomenal first effort at the 400 IM. His swim earned him a 5th place finish and a new Silver time! John also had an amazing swim in the 500. His training paid off as he dropped more than 12 seconds from his previous best time!

Alyssa fought a tough race to take home gold in the 100 freestyle. She placed 2nd in the 400 IM and 200 fly, both in best times. Samantha D. had a great 200 breaststroke, finishing 10 seconds ahead of her previous best. Gavin was awesome in his 200 IM, where he finished 12 seconds ahead of his previous best. Joleen has found a new favorite event in the 200 fly, qualifying for JO’s in just her first attempt at the event! Veronica had an excellent 100 backstroke, using her underwater kicks to propel her to a new best time by more than 2 seconds.

Pedro, Mike, and Jeffrey all hit some major milestones this weekend. Pedro finished his 100 freestyle under the 53 second mark, Mike was under 2 minutes in the 200 freestyle, and Jeffrey got under a minute in the 100 fly. Nice work gentlemen!

At the 12 & Under session Claire and Daniel McNeary followed their brother with some outstanding swims of their own. Claire’s 400 IM was a 9 second improvement, a new 13 over JO cut, and a 700 point swim. Way to go! Daniel was on fire dropping under the 27 second mark in his 50 free not once but twice, in both his individual and relay swims. Awesome! Luca’s 100 IM was a terrific swim as he dropped more than 8 seconds from his best time.

I am very impressed with the improvements in attendance and work ethic over the past month. With just one chance left to qualify for our Championship meets there is still work to be done. “Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” - Jack Canfield

Holiday Meet Wrap Up

The Senior Swimmers ended out their 2012 season at three meets, the Badger December Meet at Lehman College, the North Baltimore Holiday Invitational in Maryland, and the Bruce Hutchinson Classic in Connecticut.  Mid season championship meets serve as a check-point to see how our training is affecting us so far this year.  They are also a reminder of what we need to do to be successful at the end of the season a few months from now.

At the Badger meet Aidan Mulderrig was on fire.  Since moving up to the Senior Group in the end of October, Aidan has proved he wants to be a great swimmer.  He has an average of 90% attendance and works very hard when he is in the pool.  Aidan is not afraid to try new intervals and gives 100% effort on every set.  His hard work was rewarded with 3 best times at the one day meet.  Keep up the great work Aidan.

The Seniors were represented by just one swimmer at the North Baltimore meet.  Ryan Brown proved he had earned his spot on that travel team by posting a best time in every event he swam, every time he swam.  He qualified for finals in 2 events; finishing 5th in the 100 breaststroke, and 3rd in the 200 breaststroke.  Ryan’s 200 breaststroke is now tied for first in Metro Swimming for swimmers ages 13 – 14.  Ryan is another swimmer whose attendance at practice is almost flawless.  His average attendance for night practice this year is 95%.  He also regularly attends morning practices.  His commitment to becoming the best swimmer he can be has helped him improve tremendously over the past year.  Keep up the hard work Ryan!

The majority of the group attended the Hutchinson Classic in Connecticut.  The meet saw some stiff competition this year but our swimmers rose to the challenge.   Many of the swimmers who qualified for finals showed great determination and returned at night to improve upon their morning swims.  While there were lots of best times and finals swims, two athletes stood out from their first races on Friday night, to their last races on Sunday.  Justin Casement and Julia Pusateri took home LIAC’s Swimmer of the Meet honors, along with a slew of top 8 finishes.

Justin started off the weekend swimming an aggressive and tough race dropping 13 seconds in the 500 freestyle.  He swam a total of 6 personal bests during the meet, including a perfect final day.  His best race of the weekend was the last event Sunday night, the 200 fly.  Justin dropped 5 seconds and finished in 3rd place.  Justin has been working very hard at every practice.  He’s not afraid to choose Butterfly on choice sets or to go in the distance lane when asked.  Great work Justin, we look forward to even faster swims from you at the end of the season!

Julia also began her meet with a 14 second drop in the 500 freestyle and continued with all perfect times from there on out.  She took home a first and second place finish in her best events, the 100 and 200 yard breaststrokes, but was just as impressive in her other events.  Julia’s butterfly was on fire in Connecticut.  She took off 15 seconds in the 200 fly and ended up finishing in 3rd place.  Julia has been very dedicated in practice.  She tries her hardest during every set, and consistently works on swimming with good technique.  Her determination and desire to succeed are what led her to such an outstanding weekend.  Way to go!   

Other notable swims on the weekend came from Brendan Chan (400IM), Manu Cohen (50 free), Mike Giannotti (200 breaststroke), Nicholas Illuzzi (100 breaststroke - 1st place!) Brooke Kaplan (200 back), Rachel Lana (500 free), Claire McNeary (200IM), Daniel McNeary (200 free), John Rotolo (400IM), Lauren Schroeder (200 breaststroke), Samantha Truter (500 free), and Veronica Trzeciak (50 freestyle).

There is a quote which says, “There is a choice you have to make, in everything you do.  And you must always keep in mind the choice you make, makes you.”  As we head into 2013, I urge the Senior Swimmers to re-evaluate their goals and the choices they have made surrounding them.   Swimmers should remember why they set these goals and commit themselves to making choices that help achieve them.  There is hard work along this road but the success at the end is worth it.  I look forward to watching all of the Senior Swimmers achieve the rewards of their hard work at the end of this season!

LIAC Seniors throw down once agan at Thanksgiving Classic!

Saturday was a change from the norm for our group.  The challenge of competing early in the morning and again at night was good practice for us as we prepare for the prelims finals environment we will experience in New Haven in just a few weeks.  While many swimmers struggled to get going in the morning, they came back fighting and racing harder than ever in the afternoon.  It was a good lesson in swim meet preparation and I was so impressed by the swimmers’ resilience and determination at the end of a long day.

In the 12 and under category we had a few 12 year olds who really shined.  Danny M., Olivia P., and Brian K. all had perfect meets swimming best times in every event.   Way to go!

Swimmer of the meet honors go to Justin Casement and Veronica Trzeciak this weekend.  Justin swam an intimidating array of events, including the 200 back, fly, breaststroke, IM, and the 400 IM!  He had a perfect meet and swam best times in all 6 of his events.  Justin has been working very hard in practice.  He leads the lane and takes the time to focus on doing the little things right.  Keep up the great work Justin! 

Veronica also had a difficult medley of events.  Every time she stepped up on the blocks she was there to race whether it was her favorite event or one she swims less often.  This proved a good plan as she swam 5 best times.  I am so proud of Veronica’s positive attitude towards training and racing so far this year.  Great job!

As we push our training to another level over the next few weeks I look forward to consistent effort and focus from our swimmers.  Remember every practice is a chance to improve!

Chappy’s Big Race:  Full of Big Races in the Senior Group!

The 2012-2013 Short Course season got off to a fantastic start for many of the Senior swimmers this weekend.  There were 9 swimmers with perfect meets, finishing with best times in every event!  Congratulations to Ryan Brown, Jon Chen, Erjin Choi, Pedro Duarte, Nicholas Illuzzi, Alex Betzios, Danny McNeary, Kimberly Tetuan, and David Villani on your success this weekend!

Swimmer of the Meet honors go to Ryan Brown and Carly Spallone this weekend!   Ryan brought his A game to the meet and dropped a total of 54 seconds across his 7 races.  His most outstanding swims came in the 200 freestyle where he took off 8 seconds to qualify for JO’s, the 200 breaststroke which was more than 3 seconds faster than his previous best and, and the 1000 where he took off over 30 seconds.  Great job Ryan!  It was Carly’ first meet with the Senior Group and with every race she made us proud.  Always remembering to finish strong on that last 25, Carly hunted down many opponents and raced her hardest.   Her 200 and 100 freestyle events were best times by more than 5 seconds each.  Congrats Carly!

There were some other truly big races this weekend.  Peter Boldyrew had an awesome 200 freestyle, taking off more than 12 seconds from his previous best time… Fist Pump!  Justin Casement dropped over 4 seconds in his 200 freestyle and almost 30 seconds in his 1000 in what was an outstanding race from start to finish… Fist Pump!  David Villani had a great 200 backstroke, finishing 5 seconds ahead of his personal best.  Jon Chen had a great 200 IM, taking off more than 4 seconds in the event.   Both Brian Klotsche and Jonathan Manfre fought hard in the event as well… each taking off more than 10 seconds in the event… fist pumps!

Erjin Choi was on fire this weekend!  He took off more than 15 seconds in each of his 200 events … fist pump fist pump fist pump… he dropped more than 6 seconds in his 100 freestyle to drop under the 1 minute mark for the first time!  Great work Erjinator!  Also getting under the 1 minute mark for the first time were Emanuel Cohen and Daniel McNeary.  Congrats boys!  Nick Illuzzi was awesome in his 100 breaststroke… taking off more than 3 seconds for his first winter JO cut of the season!

Brooke, Alex, Rachel, and Meghan led the way for the ladies.  Brooke Kaplan broke several time barriers, but her biggest swim was the 200 freestyle.  Alex Betzios finished her first LIAC meet with an awesome 200 IM, really racing hard on each 50 stroke and finishing strong.  Rachel Lana and Meaghan Rush also had great 200 IMs racing the whole way and then putting their heads down inside the finish to out touch a competitor in true LIAC style.

In the 1000 Jeffrey McNeary, Julia Pusateri, and Julia Hall joined Justin in taking off a total of 137 seconds between the 4 of them.  That’s 13 fist pumps for those of you doing the math!  Truly Big Races!

While there were amazing swims this weekend, there is still a lot of room for improvement.  The athletes are learning to push themselves out of their comfort zones and to new levels in every practice. Looking at the results from this weekend we can really see which swimmers are starting to grasp this and those who still need to work on it.  With improvements in our work ethic and attendance I am looking forward to the Senior group having an even better meet at Princeton in 3 weeks.

"The guy who takes a chance, who walks the line between the known and unknown, who is unafraid of failure, will succeed." - Gordon Parks

Welcome to the 2012-2013 season! Get ready to go!

“Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” - Francis Asissi
This past weekend a few of our Senior swimmers headed back to Lehman College in the Bronx for the Senior Metropolitan Championships.  Bridget, Erika, and Natasha represented our group well with their swims.  Erika swam a great mile on Thursday night, finishing in her best 1650 time by more than 10 seconds and her best 1000 time by 2 seconds.  Natasha swam season best times in both breaststroke events.  Bridget had an incredible weekend.  She started off with a best time by almost 20 seconds in the 1650.  During the course of her swim she split a new best time in her 1000, earned a 16th place finish, and her first Speedo Super Sectional cut.  The Speedo Super Sectionals will take place this summer in Buffalo, NY.  Throughout the rest of the weekend Bridget continued swimming strong, she swam her best times in the 200 and 800 freestyles as well.  Bridget is a leader in our group and it was very exciting to watch her swim so fast.  She trains extremely hard, races with a tremendous amount of heart, and has a lot of fun.  I hope that other swimmers in our group will follow her lead and that next year we will have a big bus full of swimmers headed up to sectionals! 

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.”
Through the busy swim meet season of January and February all our swimmers efforts in practice have really come together and culminated in some fast swimming. 
At the NuFinmen MLK meet in January, the seniors stepped up to their first series of races since early December.  There were a lot of outstanding swims that weekend.  Alyssa, Pierce and Nicky took home Swimmer of the Meet honors as they had almost perfect meets, dropping significant time in their events.  Katrina had a wow kind of weekend, taking off time in 6 events and swam to a new Senior Met time in the 200 backstroke!  Joleen was right behind her swimming a best time every time she got up on the blocks.  Ryan Brown had an amazing 500 free, swimming his best by almost 20 seconds, and swimming his first 200 in a new best time.  Ruben had a strong weekend… his 100 backstroke was a best by almost 10 seconds!  Manu, TJ, and Aileen also swam fantastic backstrokes, with best times in the 200 by almost 4 seconds.  Sarah Greco’s 500 was her best by more than 15 seconds.  Julia Hall did a great job in her 200 fly, earning a 6th place finish and a new best time by almost 2 seconds.  Finola, Nicholas, and Brooke had terrific swims in their 200 IM’s, among other events, and swam to new best times by 2 seconds each.  Rachel, Veronica, Bridget and Sarah Maley were among the swimmers who dropped time in the 100 fly.  John, Jackson, Dana, Julia Pusateri and Catherine both swam best times in their 500 freestyles.  Jackson capped off a very strong weekend with a best time in the 100 by a full second!  Vance also sprinted his way to some new best times in the 50, 100, and 200 freestyles to finish off a great weekend.
Next up was the LIAC time trial intrasquad meet.  The team was divided evenly into three teams, Red, White, and Blue.  Many of our swimmers released their inner competitor in this meet, and really shined.  Alyssa, Ruben, Manu, Alec, Nicky, Jeffrey, Joleen, and Katie all swam best times in every event they raced! Jeffrey, Allegra, and Pierce each completed their first 1650’s with very strong swims, as Joleen did the same in her first 1000.  Our athletes really used the meet to their advantage earning new cut times all over the place.  Meaghan, Michael, Nicholas, and Justin each swam to new Silver qualifying times and Nicolette swam to a new JO cut in her 200 freestyle.  Whitney and Conor sprinted to new zone qualifier times in their 50 and 100 freestyle’s respectively and Ruben qualified for the same meet in his 200 breaststroke.   Erika swam to best time by more than 4 seconds and a new Senior Met cut in the 400 IM.
The Seniors finished the non-championship season at the Badger IMX meet.  This is always one of our most challenging meets, but it was so encouraging to watch all of the athletes get up and race in variety of events.  Our Senior Swimmers took home a box full of trophies for their well rounded performances in some of our sport’s most grueling events.  Katrina, Alyssa, Nicolette, Julia H., Genna, Finola, and John all walked away with Trophies from the meet.  For the boys Brendan was the winner and brought home the overall gold for the 15 over boys high point competition.  While he swam well across the board (taking home four 1st place finishes), it was most likely his personal best by more than 20 seconds in his least favorite event (the 500) that pushed him to victory.  For the girls, Bridget was on fire!  She dropped more than 48 seconds over the course of her 6 events and walked away with a second place trophy in the overall girls high point competition. Her swim in the 500 free earned her a gold medal.  Other solid swims during the weekend came from Katrina (200 breast), Alyssa (400IM), Ruben (500 free), Nicolette (400 IM), Finola (400 IM), Brooke (400 IM), Dana (400 IM), Julia P. (400 IM), Amelia (500 free), John (200 fly), Allegra (200 back), TJ (200 breaststroke), Whitney (500 free), Kimberly (500 free), and Veronica (400 IM).  This was one of our best meets of the season and I was extremely proud of how hard all of the athletes raced.
As we head into the championship part of the season it is time to put together all the pieces of your training and unleash your inner beast for some fast swimming!  Good luck and keep it up!

The Senior group headed up to New Haven Connecticut for the 2011 Hutchinson Classic.  It was great to be back at this meet again watching so many of our swimmers earn second swims by qualifying for finals.
The meet started out with a bang on Friday night with the distance events.  Ryan V swam a personal best in his mile by more than 10 seconds to earn a second place finish.  Bridget took home 3rd place with an excellent swim.  Aileen and Ryan B. both completed their first miles on Friday night and both earned 500 point swims in the event.  Ryan’s swim was very exciting as he stayed focused on his turns and used them to his advantage in a very close race.  It was a great example for the team to see how important turns really are!
In the 400 IM Natasha placed 3rd with a season best time.  Brendan and John were impressive, each swimming personal best times.  LIAC had 26 athletes compete in the 500 freestyle, the last event of the evening.  15 swimmers completed the race in their personal bests and another 4 raced the 500 for the very first time  From the Senior Group Finola, Alyssa, Allegra, Brooke, Rachel, Julia,Catherine, Sarah, Pedro, Jackson, Pierce, and Manu all swam best times!  It was especially exciting to watch Pedro smoke his heat with a 51 second drop!
Saturday morning LIAC swimmers were up on the blocks early and ready to race right away.  8 girls and 7 boys qualified for finals at night and 13 personal records were broken.  TJ had a great race in the morning, finally smashing through the 2 minute barrier with his 1.58!  Finola competed in a swim off for 8th place at the end of the morning session.  The rush of adrenaline and the cheers of her teammates must have really helped her as she swam 3 seconds under her preliminary time to win the swim off! 
In the 100 fly Bridget used her speedy kick to propel herself to a personal best by more than two and half seconds.  Justin swam his first of what would become many night swims and dropped under his personal best as well.  Brendan, TJ, and Ryan represented LIAC well in the 15 and over category with their trio of best times and sub minute flys!
In the 100 back LIAC was represented well as a slew of personal records dropped.  Finola, Aileen, Allegra, Brooke and Erika along with Pedro, and Manu all qualified for finals with their best times in the event.  Catherine and TJ also beat their own personal records in the morning.
The 50 free was highlighted by lots of fast racing.  In finals Alyssa and Finola took 2nd and 4th place respectively.  Pedro and Jackson took 5th, 6th and 8th each swimming a personal best time.  Erika, Giulianna, and Sean all finished among the top 16 with new personal bests in the event.
In the final event of the day, the 200 breaststroke LIAC swimmers did very well.  We saw some very aggressive and impressive swims.  Sarah had a great race as she swam her best by over 3 seconds.  For the 13-14’s the finals heats were crowded with LIAC swimmers as Olivia, Amanda, Allegra, Julia, Catherine and Brooke all swam personal best times and finished in 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 10th place!  It was no different for the boys as Ryan, Michael, Ruben and Nicholas took 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th.  Both Dina and Michael were on fire in the morning.  They both swam more than 12 seconds faster than where they started the season!
Day 3 was another strong one for LIAC, with even more swimmers earning best times and second swims.  Olivia, Finola, Alyssa, Allegra, and Aileen all qualified for finals at night and swam faster than their morning swims!  Nicolette and Sarah G. fought hard for their well deserved best times in the morning.  For the boys Ryan B., Pedro, Ruben, Matt, Justin, Manu, and Nicholas all swam personal bests and earned second swims!
The 100 breaststroke on day 3 proved to be just as exciting as the 200 breaststrokes were on day one.  LIAC swimmers took 3rd -6th place for the girls (Allegra, Julia, Catherine, and Amanda).  Michael, Ruben, and Ryan B. swam great races earning 3rd, 4th, and 6th for the boys.  Dina and Natasha raced hard for the older girls earning 2nd and 4th place respectively. 
In the 200 backstroke LIAC saw many outstanding races.  Finola, Aileen, Brooke, Rachel, Erika, Sarah G, Giulianna, and Sarah M. all swam personal bests for the girls, with Brooke and Sarah G. both swimming more than 4 seconds under their previous best times.  For the boys Jackson had a great swim in the morning as did Pedro, Pierce, John and Manu who all swam their personal best times.
The next event, the 100 freestyle, was full of tough racing by LIAC swimmers.  Brooke, Rachel, Amanda, Nicolette, and Dina along with Pedro, Nicholas and Pierce all swam their personal best in the event.  LIAC qualified 15 swimmers for second swims!
The meet concluded with one of the most difficult events, the 200 butterfly.  LIAC swimmers did their coaches proud with fantastic season bests, personal bests, and a few really outstanding swims.  Genna swam a very smart race, finishing strong in her best time this season by more than 4 seconds.  Bridget took almost 2 seconds off of her personal best, and finished the meet with another 3rd place swim.  John ended a great weekend with a 13th place finish and a personal best by more than 8 seconds.  TJ and Brendan both swam fantastic races ending their meets with personal bests by more than 2 and 6 seconds respectively.
Congratulations to the Swimmers of the Meet Brooke, Finola, Ruben, and Brendan.  Your hard work and dedication in practice paid off tremendously this weekend.  Your work ethic and attitude both in practice and at meets sets an example that motivates those around you to do their best too.  Keep up the great work!
On the whole LIAC swimmers were extremely impressive this weekend.  They raced well, swam fast, and had a lot of fun representing their team in Connecticut.  Now its back to the pool to train hard for the rest of the season!

Seniors Throwdown Thrilling Swims at Thanksgiving
On the heels of a great weekend at Viking, the senior group threw down some fantastic times at the Thanksgiving meet.  It was a long day but the swimmers arrived ready to accept the challenge of swimming 6 different events.    Alyssa, Nate, Finola, Nicholas, Catherine, Sean, Rachel, Joleen, Justin, John, Allegra, and Veronica were all either perfect, or almost perfect with at least 5 out of 6 best times each.  Making their challenging day even tougher, 9 athletes swam the 400 IM for the first time this year.  Congratulations to Brooke, Sean, Julia P., John, Conor, Whitney, and Aileen on your best times in the event.
Congratulations to our swimmers of the meet: Allegra, Sean and Justin.  These athletes all share a common thread, consistency.   Allegra, Sean, and Justin have been hard at work in the pool since September.  They push themselves to new limits in practice on a daily basis and rise to the occasion when it comes to meets.  Allegra, Sean, and Justin have been consistently dropping time in a variety of events this year and are reaching towards new goals as they attempt to qualify for the next level of competition.  Congratulations on being terrific leaders in our group and on your fantastic achievements!

35 Senior athletes are now scoring points for LIAC in the USA Swimming Virtual Club Championships. LIAC is currently in 11th place this season. Check online to see if your name is on the list and to see what you need to do to help LIAC get into the top 10!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Viking Classic
The Viking classic was a tremendous success.   Many senior swimmers raced their way to best times and top 3 finishes.  Swimmers with perfect meets included Rachel, Katrina, Ruben, and Justin.  Dina took home her first gold medal of the season in the 100 breaststroke and Katrina took home a gold in the 400 IM!  Katrina also earned a silver medal with her performance in the 200 IM.  Sean earned a bronze with his best time in the 100 freestyle, and Jasmine finished with a silver medal in the 100 backstroke.  Brendan also had an outstanding meet.  His consistent effort in practice paid off and led him to best times in 6 of his events this weekend.
LIAC’s relays were also a dominating force.  The Girls relays took home gold in both the 200 freestyle (Sarah, Dina, Julia, and Jasmine) and 200 Medley (Katrina, Dina, Jasmine, Sarah) relays.  The boys relays (freestyle: Pedro, Ryan, Phillip, Sean;  Medley: Sean, Ryan, Brendan, Phillip) took home two bronze medals both in dramatic finishes.
Congratulations to the Swimmers of the Meet, Julia P., TJ, and Michael.  Coming off of a very successful high school season, Julia got right back up on the blocks and proved that she is ready to race all year long.  She dropped more than 19 seconds across 7 events!  TJ was awesome at Viking.  He had a perfect meet swimming all best times, and passed some major time milestones in his 100 fly and 500 freestyle.  Michael also had a terrific weekend.  His perfect meet included taking off more than 40 seconds across 7 events.  Mike’s 500 freestyle, was a personal best by 21 seconds and his 100 fly was a best by more than 9 seconds.  Way to go seniors!
I was so impressed with how all of LIAC’s athletes performed this weekend.  Every athlete stepped up ready to race with their A game.  Congratulations on a job well done!

10th Annual Chappy’s Big Race a success for Senior swimmers!
Congratulations to all of the athletes who swam so well in our first meet of the season. 
On the boy’s side Ruben, Pedro, Justin, Nicholas I, and Nicky J all had perfect meets, with 100% best times.  Michael, John, Pierce, and Conor were almost perfect with best times in 5 out of 6 events.  Highlights included Ruben’s 8 second drop in both the 200 breaststroke and 200 freestyle,  Michael’s 9 second drop in the 200 breaststroke, and Nicholas dropping 33 seconds from his 200 freestyle from a year ago.  Also outstanding swims to watch were Nicky’s 200 freestyle and John’s 200 IM.  Sean re-qualified for the new, more challenging, Senior Met meet.  He showed that he can not only swim fast in practice but in meets too!  Conor’s 100 fly was a great race as were Matthew and Peirce’s 200 backstrokes and Justin’s 200 freestyle. 
The Swimmer of the Meet for the boy’s was a clear winner.  Pedro took home the honors in his first short course meet with the Senior group.  Pedro dropped a total of 68 seconds over the course of 6 events!  His 200 freestyle was most impressive, as he swam to a personal best by 12 seconds.  He also achieved his first 500 point swim in the 50 freestyle!  Great job Pedro!
On the girl’s side there were 2 perfect meets.  Catherine and Dana were the only girls to swim 100% best times.  Catherine’s best race was her 200 IM, an improvement of over 6 seconds!   Aileen, Finola, Rachel, and Allegra were almost perfect, with best times in all but one event each.   All 4 swimmers had outstanding 200 freestyle swims.  In the 1000 Aileen represented the Senior group well taking off almost 50 seconds from last year.  Other highlights were Finola’s 200 backstroke, Rachel’s200 IM, and Allegra’s100 freestyle. 
For the girls Dana earned Swimmer of the Meet honors.  Since last September Dana has picked up her effort in practice and has a renewed drive for the sport.  Her efforts proved successful this weekend as very consistently dropped an average of 2.5 seconds in every event she swam.  Her 50 free was a fantastic swim as she led the heat and finished in a best time well ahead of the field.  Congratulations Dana!
There were a lot of inspiring swims at Chappy’s… congratulations to those of you who improved so much.  There is also a lot of work to be done this year.  The cut times for Silvers, Jo’s and Senior Mets are more challenging than ever and I look forward to watching as you all work harder to achieve your goals.  3 weeks until Viking! 

LIAC Seniors Excel in North Carolina
July 29th – August 1st a select group of 19 swimmers from the Senior group travelled to the Tar Heel State  - West meet in High Point North Carolina.  The outdoor meet provided our athletes with a new experience and a fantastic opportunity to race new competition.   LIAC swimmers and parents were treated with Southern Hospitality by the host team and were complemented on being some of the most polite and well mannered athletes on the deck!
The weekend started out with a bang on Friday with the 200 freestyle.  Aileen, Veronica, Jackson, Bridget, and Erika all qualified for a second swim placing 5th, 7th, 8th, 12th and 7th respectively.  Aileen’s time at night was a personal best by more than 2 seconds.  Ruben, Pierce, Ryan, and TJ also had outstanding swims in the morning finishing in personal best times.
LIAC moved on to show off our breaststroke abilities with 6 best times in the 100 breast stroke, and 5 swimmers qualifying for finals.  Julia, Alec, Ruben, Michael, and Natasha all earned second swims.  One of the best races to watch that night was Alec, Ruben, and Michael all competing in the final heat.  Alec left with his first first place finish of the weekend, Ruben walked away with third, and Michael took 6th.
With fewer swimmers entered in the 100 fly LIAC flyers stepped up big in the next event, the 100 butterfly.  Veronica finished 6th at night, swimming her best time by over 5 seconds.  Bridget, Nicolette, and Meaghan each swam personal bests, and Bridget surprised even herself qualifying for finals in the event.   On the men’s side Jackson took home 7th place and Ruben, Ryan and Brendan each continued their streaks of improvement dropping more than 10 seconds between the three of them!
The 400 IM was the last individual event of the day.  Natasha, Nicolette, TJ, and Brendan all had fantastic swims each taking off time from their personal bests.  Erika was seeded into the final heat at night and raced to a 3rd place finish, swimming 18 seconds faster than she had all summer!
The swimmers wrapped up the first day of competition with the 200 Medley relay.  The 13-14 relay teams of Brooke, Julia, Veronica, and Aileen, and Jackson, Ruben, Michael, and Alec took home 3rd place finishes.

The second day of the meet not only heated up the thermometer (105 degrees!) but also heated up the competition.  LIAC swimmers fought hard and earned another 12 evening swims to match Friday’s accomplishments.
In the 200 fly LIAC was represented by just two swimmers, who did us proud, finishing in 6th and 8th place respectively were Nicolette and Bridget.  Nicolette’s time was a personal best by more than a second over the time she achieved just one weekend earlier at Senior Mets! 
The 50 freestyle was an outstanding event for LIAC swimmers.  Veronica and Jackson each took home 5th place finishes and Alec brought home another blue ribbon with his first place finish.  Also racing to personal best times were Aileen, Julia, Brooke, Caroline, Michael, Erika, Meaghan, Brendan, Ryan, and TJ!  Phew… go LIAC sprinters!
The 200 breaststroke brought out more tough racing from LIAC swimmers as Ruben, Michael, Natasha, and Alec all finished in the top 8.  Natasha’s heat was extremely close and she managed to out touch the swimmers around her to finish in a personal best by more than 5 seconds taking home 5th place honors.  Ruben, Michael, and Alec all duked it out again in the finals with Ruben and Michael finishing in personal best times for 3rd and 6th place respectively.  Alec dominated the heat on the final hundred and took home his 3rd first place finish of the weekend!
The first backstroke event of the weekend proved to be a learning experience for our athletes who rarely race outside but Brooke and TJ stepped up to the challenge racing their way to personal best times.  Aileen, Erika, and Tim took home 7th, 12th and 13th place honors.
The final event of the day was the 400 freestyle, where LIAC was of course represented very well.  Aileen, Veronica, Jackson, Pierce, Nicolette, and Ryan each swam their personal best times at the end of a long hot morning.  Veronica and Ryan’s swims were especially outstanding as they each dropped more than 12 seconds from their personal best times set earlier this summer.  Finishing in the top 8 in the event were Aileen (3rd), Veronica (5th), Bridget (7th), and Ryan (8th). 

The final day of the meet finished without finals, due to a major thunderstorm, but the swimmers got the job done in the morning to finish the meet strong.  Aileen, Brooke, Julia, Jackson, Michael, Ruben, Erika, Bridget, Natasha, Ryan and Brendan all swam to personal bests in the 100 freestyle.  Alec and Jackson went 1-2 in the 13-14 event as Veronica, Aileen, and Erika took home 5th, 11th, and 9th respectively earning points for LIAC.
In the 800 Bridget represented LIAC’s distance contingent with a great race just out touching the swimmer next to her for 3rd place.  Ryan finished the event in 5th.
The 200 backstroke was highlighted by a best time and 1st place finish from Aileen! 
In the last individual event of the day Brendan swam a personal best by more than a second and Michael finished more than 18 seconds ahead of his previous best time… what a way to end the meet!
The final event of the weekend was the 200 freestyle relay.  The 13-14 boys (Jackson, Ruben, Michael, and Alec) and 15-18 girls (Nicolette, Meaghan, Bridget, and Erika) relays each took home second place finishes serving as an incredible finish to a fantastic weekend.

Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed in North Carolina.  We are so proud of you and your accomplishments and we can’t wait to go back next year!

LIAC’s Senior Groups had a fantastic summer season.  There were more than 395 best times between the three groups in the senior program!  We are so proud of all of the hard work you put into the pool each day and your commitment to training and improving. 

True to LIAC style, the seniors swam some stupendous freestyle races this summer.  In the 50 Ryan B., Ruben, Brooke, Sean, Pedro, Richard, Rachel, Sarah M, Dana, Julia P., Karan, Emma, and Jackson each swam personal bests by more than 1 second and truly sprinted to get their hands to the wall!  In the 100 freestyle we saw incredible swims by Alyssa, Erjin, Alec, Conor S., Veronica, Ryan V., and Fallon throughout the summer.  Moving into the middle distance freestyles there were a lot of amazing swims in everyone’s favorite event, the 200 freestyle!  Katrina, Greg, Ruben, Brendan, Philip, Allison G., Julia H., Nicky, Rachel, Diane, Celine, Jeffrey, Bridget, Amelia, Joleen, John, Pierce, Fallon, and Will all dropped a significant amount of time and had some terrific swims.  In the 400 we saw personal bests by Vance (42 seconds), Claire (27 seconds), Dana (38 seconds), Sarah M (36 seconds), Rachel  (23 seconds), Brooke (62 seconds), Delaney (10 seconds), Aileen (13 seconds), Philip (14 seconds), and Alyssa (16 seconds).  All of these improvements came in just one race!  The 800 and 1500 swimmers did a great job with some of our sports’ most grueling events.  Nicolette, Ryan, Bridget, Erika, Aileen, and Natasha all improved in their distance events this summer.

The Senior backstrokers also did their groups proud with some phenomenal swims this summer.  Katrina, Greg, Alyssa, Emily, Caroline, Michael, Nicky, Catherine, Bridget, Julia P., John, Jackson, Whitney, Veronica, and Erika all packed a 1-2 punch and took off time in both backstroke events. The breaststroke events were where LIAC’s seniors really shined!  Nate, Ryan B, Ruben, Michael G., Sarah G, Joey, Delaney, Alec, Nicky, Catherine, Sean, Natasha, Karan, Conor, and Whitney all dropped a lot of time.  9 of these swimmers achieved JO times with Nate, Delaney, Ryan B, and Natasha all qualifying for Senior Mets.  Delaney’s times earned him a spot on LIAC’s Super Sectional team.  Go LIAC breaststroke!

The butterfly events demonstrated how hard work and attention to detail in practice can lead to success.   We saw a tremendous amount of improvement in the Senior butterfly events this summer.  Notable swims came from Vance, Fallon, Will, Claire, Whitney, Jackson, Pierce, Amelia, Julia, Bridget, Richard, Rachel, Sean, Brooke, Julia H, Delaney, Nicolette, Tim, Philip, Erjin, Alyssa, Brendan, and Ruben. The Individual Medley events saw so many great swims from so many athletes.  Seeing the results in these challenging events proves just how well rounded our swimmers are.