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10/15/2017 12:00 AM2017 marks the second season of the East Haven-Wilbur Cross (EH-WC) co-op girls’ swimming team. The Yellowjackets came into the campaign having gone eight straight years without recording a win, but that ended quickly this year when EH-WC defeated Guilford on Sept. 13. There was plenty of excitement surrounding that victory among the Easties’ swimmers, coaches, and Athletic Director Anthony Verderame.
“This is my third season coaching the team. To break an eight-year losing spree was nice,” Head Coach Dave Oshana said. “I was really happy for the seniors on my team who swam since freshman year and finally got a win.”
On Oct. 13, EH-WC picked up its second win of the season when the team defeated Sheehan on the road by the final score of 105-75.
“Winning against Sheehan was great for the team. You see whenever we swim against a team with diving, which we do not have, the opposing team will automatically score 10 [to] 13 points against us,” Oshana said. “Sheehan scored 10 points against us with their divers, and we still came back to beat them. I am very proud of the girls for that accomplishment.”
Oshana said that it was huge for his team to beat Sheehan despite the disparity in diving points. The coach noted that his team features a number of athletes who entered the year primed to make some noise in both the regular season and the postseason.
“I am very pleased with how this season is going. We broke an eight-year losing spree, we have won two meets to date, and still have two more meets to swim before the end of the regular season,” said Oshana. Three girls have already qualified for the [Class LL State Championship] in several different events.”
EH-WC began last week by taking a 96-73 home loss against Hamden at the East Haven Rec Pool on Oct. 10. The Yellowjackets notched a first-place finish in seven of the 11 events in their loss to the Green Dragons.
The team’s relay victory came in the 200 medley as the grouping freshman Jung Joo Kim, freshman Alora McCarroll, sophomore Daniella Bedoya, and freshman Laura Rosado won with a time of 2:02.78. Individually, Rosado and Kim both won a pair of events. Rosado won the 200 individual medley behind a time of 2:13.34 and also took first in the 500 freestyle at 5:36.96. Kim was victorious in the 100 freestyle with a mark of 59.90, and she also prevailed in the 100 backstroke by swimming a 1:08.58. Other victories came from Bedoya in the 200 freestyle (2:09.56) and McCarroll in the 100 breaststroke (1:19.41).
Even with the defeat, EH-WC was competitive in the Hamden matchup, and Coach Oshana said that his team has been giving a competitive throughout the entire season.
“This group of girls is competitive for several reasons. For one, four girls who joined this season are swimmers who swim on different club teams in the offseason. These girls have all swam competitively for many years. Most importantly, these girls want to win. There is a strong drive to succeed,” he said. “Our relay teams are very strong, often times beating other relays from towns with much bigger teams. We do have some depth on the team and have strong swimmers in each stroke.”
Oshana added that he’s happy that East Haven’s merger with Wilbur Cross is paying dividends by getting more athletes in the water—something that can only help the program in both the short and long term.
“Partnering with Wilbur Cross has really helped us strengthen our numbers. That being said, I would like to develop more swimmers from East Haven, too. I think having a successful program helps draw more athletes,” Oshana said. “[Assistant coach Rabecca Florio] and I are really fortunate to coach this great group of kids. I believe the co-op has been such a success because of the girls involved. They have all really jelled together into one team. The girls do a great job of pushing each other in practice and encouraging one another in meets.”
With a couple of victories under his club’s belt, Oshana hopes that continues stirring interest in the program at both schools and, hopefully, translates to even more wins down the road.
“Hopefully, this season will attract more swimmers to our team,” Oshana said. “Swimming is an incredibly difficult sport. I have a lot of respect for my girls’ abilities. I hope their success will bring younger swimmers to the program.”