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09/08/2018 12:00 AMLast year, the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team had a campaign for the ages that saw the Indians record their all-time best performance at a state meet by placing second in the Class M State Championship. As a new season gets underway, North Haven is hitting the water with an excellent blend of talent and depth throughout its roster, from the team’s core veterans to a cast of up-and-coming freshmen. Consequently, Head Coach Martha Phelan feels confident that the Indians can put together an even better year in 2018. North Haven started its season by earning a 95-81 home victory versus Sacred Heart Academy (SHA) at Gawrych Town Pool on Sept. 7.
North Haven claimed victory in the first eight events on its way to establishing a 95-31 advantage over the Sharks. The final four events were contested on an exhibition basis—meaning the Indians were unable to officially win first place in any of them—although they still posted the fastest time in all four events. Juniors Angela Gambardella and Kiersten Winter, sophomore Maddie Bergin, and freshman Brooke Nebor each swam in four events in which either they as individuals or their relays finished with the best time.
“I call tell you just by what I saw today that this is a very special team. It’s really nice to have chemistry, depth—everything that a coach would want. And they’re great kids,” Phelan said. “Our swimmers and divers are buying into my concept and style of training, and these girls are all-in. I’m very happy. This is a great team.”
Phelan thinks North Haven can improve upon its regular-season record of 7-4 from 2017. The Indians also have high hopes for the postseason. Last year’s Class M state champion, Lauralton Hall, has dropped down to Class S this year, setting the stage for North Haven to potentially wear the crown for the first time. Coach Phelan said that winning a state title is a realistic goal, although she knows there are plenty of obstacles to overcome before the Indians reach that point.
“We’ve talked about it, and I told the girls that it’s reality for them, but we have to earn it. Nothing is for free. You have to qualify and then make the finals, and it’s not easy, because there are a lot of good teams out there, and you don’t know what people teams are bringing in year to year,” said Phelan, who was named the SCC Division I Coach of the Year last year. “So, we’ve talked about it, but we’re trying not to talk about it too much. We have to focus on getting in shape and working hard. I believe in hard work first.”
North Haven has three seniors who are leading the team as its captains this season. The Indians’ captains are diver Isabella Alogna, sprint freestyler Kelly Tiano, and Emily Gibson, who does sprint and distance freestyles, as well as the backstroke. While North Haven’s senior class lacks quantity, Coach Phelan said all three of her captains are quality leaders who make sure everyone is on the same page.
“They have a quiet, but determined style of leading the team in that they are very in tune with any issues and handle them well—not that we’ve had any drama,” said Phelan. “They were very thoughtful in the way they approach the team and are doing a great job of keeping a big team focused. They are everything that you want in your captains.”
North Haven’s junior class is led by Gambardella, who’s coming off a historic sophomore year that saw her set school records in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke, in addition to winning both events at the SCC and Class M State championships. She also contributed to school-record performances in the both the 200 medley relay and the 200 freestyle relay, helping both relays take first at states. On top of that, Gambardella won the Most Outstanding Performance Award at the SCC meet.
In North Haven’s season-opening win, Gambardella finished first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:05.01 to go with a victory in the 100 butterfly at 1:02.05. She also swam with Nebor, Winter, and Bergin on the Indians’ triumphant 200 medley relay (1:55.68), as well as its 400 freestyle relay that finished with the top time (3:52.68) and also included Bergin, Nebor, and sophomore Riley Jooss.
“Those aren’t Angela’s signature [individual] events, but she is a competitor who gives 100 percent wherever I put her. She did that today and did a great job,” Coach Phelan said. “The great thing about Angela is that she remains humble and never takes anything for granted. She is the hardest worker in practice and never has an off day. Angela is on autopilot. She’s a great competitor.”
Bergin also made history for North Haven last fall. As a freshman, she set school records in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, winning the 50 at states and the 100 at both SCCs and states. Against SHA, Bergin won the 50 freestyle in 25.16 and claimed first place in the 500 freestyle behind a time of 5:25.13.
“I coach Maddie in the offseason, and I’ve seen her confidence and her belief in her abilities grow,” Phelan said. “Maddie has matured in the way she trains, the way she competes, and she’s very focused when she’s behind the block preparing for a race. Maddie wants to better her performances and, if she does that, she will.”
Phelan said that she’s also seeing a lot of maturity from Winter, who won the 200 individual medley (2:25.36) and posted the fastest time in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:16.84 in North Haven’s season opener. In addition to swimming on the 200 medley relay, the junior helped the Indians’ 200 freestyle relay notch the top time of 1:50.41, while joining forces with Jooss and freshmen Taya Laborde and Noelle Carmody.
“Kiersten is a workhorse at practice, and it pays off in her competition,” Phelan said. “Kiersten is ready to have a breakout season. With the way she trains and her focus, I think she has a great year ahead of her.”
Nebor started her varsity career in fine fashion by winning the 100 freestyle (58.43) and swimming he best time of 1:04.94 in the 100 backstroke versus SHA. Phelan was impressed with the performance of Nebor, who’s part of a talented 13-athlete freshman class that features a number of year-round swimmers.
“Brooke is a very talented freshman, and I’m expecting big things from her. We graduated a couple of great seniors, but we reloaded with some great freshmen, and she will be someone to keep an eye on,” Phelan said. “Our freshmen are going to be a big part of our success, and I’m grateful to have an influx of younger swimmers who are looking good already.”
The same can be said of the Indians’ divers, who are senior Isabella Alogna, juniors Ava Santacroce and Christina Stoeffler, sophomore Amy Gibson, and freshman Brooke Waldron. Santacroce took first place with 219.95 points against SHA. Alogna finished second (194.50), while Gibson came in fifth place (104.95) at the meet. Last year, Santacroce finished fourth at the SCC Championship and took sixth in the Class M meet. Alogna came in fifth place at SCCs.
“We’ve always had some decent divers, but we’ve never had a large group of divers like we do this year,” Coach Phelan said. “It’s nice to a see a core group of divers working with [diving coach Bob Lewis]. It’s great for points for dual-meets. It’s just a nice group.”
North Haven was additionally bolstered by several other runner-up finishes in its season-opening victory. Sophomore Riley Jooss took second place in the 50 freestyle (26.76) and had the second-best time in the 100 butterfly at 1:05.41. Jooss swam on the Indians’ school-record 200 freestyle relay that also placed first at states last season.
Junior Mackenzie Montesi finished second in the 500 freestyle (5:57.27) against SHA. Freshman Giulia Faulkner placed second in the 200 individual medley (2:28.50) and turned in the second-best time in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:20.97.
From the Sidelines
The North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team’s roster includes senior captains Isabella Alogna, Emily Gibson, and Kelly Tiano; juniors Mia Coppola, Angela Gambardella, Abby Kirtland, Mackenzie Montesi, Daria Padro, Brynley Rainey, Gillian Regan, Ava Santacroce, Christina Stoeffler, Kiersten Winter, and Marla Zikaras; sophomores Maddy Bergin, Molly Coyle, Amy Gibson, Ava Guidone, Riley Jooss, Alyssa Laborde, and Nicole Reynolds; and freshmen Noelle Carmody, Giulia Faulkner, Grace Finch, Olivia Grimm, Ellie Kerzner, Taya Laborde, Brooke Nebor, Abrielle Osborne, Kelli Santacroce, Sarthi Shah, Scarlett Vogl, and Brooke Waldron.
This is Martha Phelan’s second stint as the Indians’ head coach. Phelan was North Haven’s head coach from 2003 through 2005 and then returned for her second stint in 2012. Bob Lewis has been North Haven’s diving coach since 2012.
North Haven competes in SCC Division I with Cheshire, Amity, Lauralton Hall, Hand, Shelton, Branford and Foran. The teams in SCC Division II are Lyman Hall, Hamden, Mercy, Sheehan, Law, Sacred Heart Academy, East Haven, West Haven, and Guilford. The Indians finished in fifth place at last year’s SCC Championship.
2018 North Haven Indians Girls’ Swimming and Diving Schedule
All home meets at Gawrych Town Pool
Sept. 7: North Haven 95, Sacred Heart Academy 81
Friday, Sept. 14: at East Haven-Cross at East Haven Recreation Pool at 4 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 17: vs. West Haven at 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 21: at Guilford at Branford Soundview YMCA at 3:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 25: vs. Lauralton Hall at 4 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 27: at Foran at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 2: vs. Cheshire at 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 5: vs. Hand at 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 12: vs. Amity at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 16: vs. Branford at 4 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 19: at Shelton at Shelton Community Center at 4 p.m.