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01/27/2016 11:00 PMThe sport of swimming involves a variety of different strokes and, quite often, the teams that rise to the top are the ones who have a vast array of versatile athletes. The Hand boys’ swimming and diving team features exactly that this season as the Tigers continue their quest to become among the cream of the crop in the SCCs.
Coming off consecutive SCC Division II crowns, Hand jumped out of the starting blocks to a 5-0 mark this winter before taking three-straight losses versus conference juggernauts in 11-time defending champion Fairfield Prep, 2014 and 2015 runner-up Cheshire, plus Amity. However, the Tigers turned the tide and got back to their winning ways on Jan. 25, when they paced past Lyman Hall by a 110-76 final at Sheehan to earn their sixth victory. Head Coach Christina Forristall explained that a great deal of Hand’s early success is credited to the fact that her utility athletes want to be at their peak in all aspects of the pool and beyond.
“The goal I have for them every year is to be a well-rounded team. We aren’t looking for solo superstar swimmers. It’s just great to me to get them to be a well-rounded athlete in the sport,” said Forristall. “Through it all, they learn to be a part of them team. We also make sure they volunteer in the community. Overall, they are a really good group of boys.”
For Hand’s event victories against the Trojans (2-4-1), sophomore Paul O’ Connor claimed first in the 200 freestyle in 2:00.37, plus junior Teddy Zeng won diving with a season-high score of 346.20. Junior Chris Hall took home top honors in the 100 backstroke with a personal-best mark of 1:12.63 and also set a personal best by coming in runner-up for the 100 free (58.72). Additionally, senior Davide Mendonca captured first in the 100 breaststroke (1:14.50); the 400 free relay quartet of Nathan Imbergamo, fellow sophomore Eric Swenson, Hall, and freshman Chris Wu prevailed in 4:01.09; and junior Declan Maloney dove past the 200-point barrier for the first time in his career by scoring a 203.
“We really experimented with the lineup at this meet, such as having Michael Mendonca swim in the 200 [individual medley] for the first time since his freshman year. We’ve been training so hard, so reaching personal-best times weren’t the goals, but rather having everyone race to the best of their ability,” said Forristall. “The boys have had a year-long goal of being Division II champions again. It’s driven them to train harder and faster. They are also jelling together as a team nicely.”
The Tigers have a pair of seniors aboard as captains for their journey through the water with freestyle/ backstroke swimmer Jack Farricker, along with Connor Miller, who primarily takes on the butterfly and backstroke, but has competed in virtually every type of event.
“Jack is quieter with his leadership skills, though he is always there to help lighten the mood in the pool,” Coach Forristall said. “Connor has swam almost every event for us and he is our go-to guy when it comes to keeping the boys organized and making sure things get done. He makes sure the boys follow through on things.”
After dealing with three injury-plagued campaigns, Mendonca is providing a spark of influence for the Tigers, while O’Connor has made some history in the most-grueling distance event. Hand is also deploying an underclassmen trio of Michael Mendonca, Wu, and Imbergamo, whose diverse skillset rivals that of a Swiss Army knife.
“Davide has been injured throughout the last three years, but he stepped up his training game this year and has been a great motivator. Paul is also the school-record holder in the 500 free,” said Forristall. “Michael has been training harder than I’ve ever seen before and it’s showing. Chris is one of the more versatile athletes in every meet. Nathan is going to states for the first time in his career and he put in a lot of work during the offseason.”
Joining Imbergamo (who made states in the 100 backstroke) as qualifiers for the Class L State Championship thus far are Wu (for the 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 200 IM, 100 free, 50 free); O’Connor (200 free and 500 free); plus Maloney and Zeng (diving). Between now and then, Hand would be pleased to add to this list as it takes on a good chunk of its division schedule on the heels of some recent season-defining matchups.
“We beat East Lyme, which was a turning point and confidence builder. We had lost to them last year and [Forristall’s predecessor] Jen Lyman is their head coach, so the boys wanted that win. We also had our home meet against Cheshire where we lost, but we had a lot of top performances that pushed them to be even better,” Forristall said. “We swim versus a lot of SCC DII teams coming up, so our focus is there, and then we want to try for the top six at the SCC Championship.”
Later in the week, Hand took a 97-86 loss to Branford-Guilford on Jan. 28 to own a record of 6-4. Top performances for the Tigers came from O’Connor (tops in the 200 free, swimming a personal-best time of 1:56.87); Imbergamo (runner-up in the 200 free, a personal-best 1:58.76); Davide Mendonca with two season-best times by placing fourth in the 200 IM (2:22.01) and second for the 100 breaststroke with (1:11.83); Farricker (third in the 50 free, 24.93); Hall (26.02) and junior Isaac MacKay (26.82) with personal-best times in the 50 free; plus Maloney and senior Joey Wolek in taking first and second, respectively, for diving. Other solid swims were delivered by O’Connor (5:12.33) and Michael Mendonca in the 500 (5:38.40); as well as Wu (58.29), Imbergamo (1:01.04), and Miller (1:06.82) for the 100 backstroke.
From the Sidelines
This is Christina Forristall’s second year as head coach of the Tigers and she has now been with the program for five years overall. Forristall is assisted by Pat Fitzgerald.
Prior to beating Lyman Hall, Hand’s previous five wins came against Law (88-70), West Haven (92-69), East Lyme (94-89), Shelton (87-83), and North Haven (98-72). The Tigers defeats were against Cheshire (92-70), Fairfield Prep (95-83), and Amity (96-81).
The SCC Diving Championship is on Tuesday, March 1 at Hamden at 5:30 p.m. The swimming portion is on Wednesday, March 2 at Southern Connecticut State University at 6 p.m. The Class L State Diving Championship is on Thursday, March 10 at Middletown at 5:30 p.m. The swimming section is on Wednesday, March 16 at Wesleyan University at 6 p.m.