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09/27/2021 12:00 AMThe North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team entered the 2021 season with a new head coach in Matt Pohlman. Although the team has a different coach, Pohlman said that the expectations are the same as North Haven is once again looking to prove itself as one of the top squads in both the SCC and the state.
Coach Pohlman and company are off to a strong start with a record of 3-1 through the first four meets of the season. Last week, North Haven earned a 97-86 win versus Foran and an 82-59 victory over Branford.
“It was a very smooth transition. I was fortunate to have support from Martha Phelan, the previous head coach. She had a lot of things in place,” said Pohlman. “We have great captains. They have everything in order. They welcomed me with open arms. It has been a great time.”
On Sept. 21, North Haven hosted Foran and defeated the Lions by the final score of 97-86 at Walter Gawrych Community Pool. Junior Alice Scalmani finished first in the 200 freestyle (2:07.62) and the 100 butterfly (1:02.10), while fellow junior Mikayla Rapuano took first place in the 50 freestyle (27.45) and the 100 backstroke (1:13.73) for North Haven.
Senior captain Taya Laborde claimed first place the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:07.40. North Haven’s 200 freestyle relay team of Scalmani, Rapuano, junior Tara Stoeffler, and sophomore Madisen Karavas also earned first place (1:56.37).
“It was an exciting meet. We know that Foran is an up-and-coming team. We knew we would have some challenges. We put some girls in some events that they don’t normally do,” Coach Pohlman said. “It was a great meet. It was close all the way. The girls did their job. They knew how fast they needed to swim for us to win. And they went and did it.”
North Haven finished out its week by posting an 85-59 home win against Branford on Sept. 24. Rapuano won the 200 individual medley (2:20.86), and Scalmani finished first the 100 butterfly (1:06.21) for Coach Pohlman’s squad. Senior captain Giulia Faulkner won the 100 freestyle (1:01.55), Laborde took first in the 50 freestyle (27.73), and Stoeffler won the 500 freestyle (6:20.22).
Freshman Olivia Halovatch finished first in the diving competition for North Haven by scoring 172.50 points. North Haven’s 200 medley relay of Rapuano, Faulkner, Scalmani also took first place (2:01.30).
The meet went to an exhibition format following the conclusion of the 500 freestyle. However, senior Abrielle Osborne still finished with the best time in the 100 breaststroke (1:22.93) for North Haven, which also saw its 200 freestyle relay of Faulkner, Scalmani, Rapuano, and Laborde notch the top mark (1:52.45) in that event.
“We were going for some individual best times in different events and start getting girls qualified for states,” Pohlman said. “It was awesome to see how we responded. We were in control, but swam hard regardless.”
Coach Pohlman credits North Haven’s early success to the versatility and passion of his athletes. Pohlman has asked numerous swimmers to compete in a variety of events to try and get them acclimated to each one of them. Pohlman said that this year’s team is determined to live up to the success North Haven has seen in recent years.
“We have a versatile team. We have been mixing up the events and having everybody try everything. It has been fun to have that flexibility,” said Pohlman. “There has been a lot of success here, and the girls understand that. They feel like they have something to live up to. They take this very seriously.”
Faulkner, Laborde, and Grace Finch are leading the way for North Haven as the team’s senior captains this season. The captains were voted on prior to Pohlman being named head coach, but after seeing how all three athletes compete and lead the team, he knows that North Haven is in great shape.
“The girls voted for them last year. It’s who they selected for leadership, and I can totally see why,” Pohlman said. “They all lead in distinct ways and take the girls under their wings. They show them the North Haven way of swimming. These girls have been swimming together for a while. It all starts at the top with those three.”
As North Haven looks to build off of its two-win week, the team’s athletes will continue focusing on their technique and keep doing everything they can to improve each day. Coach Pohlman said that this year’s team wants to etch its own place in the North Haven history books.
“We know we have to improve our technique every day. We want to leave the pool every day better swimmers than we were the day before,” said Pohlman. “If we follow that process and prepare ourselves as well as we can, we’ll capitalize. It’s a new group. They’re making their mark.”
In 2019, North Haven took first place at the Class M State Championship. Last year, the team finished fourth out of 17 squads at the SCC Championship. After starting this season strong, Coach Pohlman said North Haven is out to show any doubters that the 2021 edition of the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team is the real deal.
“The SCC is very top-heavy. We finished fourth last year. Our main goal is to remain as close to that as we can. We know it’ll be an uphill battle. There’s some strong teams, “Pohlman said. “We want to qualify as many swimmers as we can for states and see what kind of damage we could do. Some people don’t consider us contenders, but we feel differently. We just have to stay on track.”
The North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team’s roster features senior captains Grace Finch, Giulia Faulker and Taya Laborde; seniors Trinity Bullock, Chandler Ceste-Martinez, El-Lana Coleman, Olivia Grimm, Abrielle Osborne, and Sarthi Shah; juniors Makenzie Alogna, Ciara Clavaton, Victoria Pachnik, Mikayla Rapuano, Alice Scalmani and Tara Stoeffler; sophomores Meghan DeRubeis, Madisen Karavas, Alexis Knapp, Fiona Rosano, and Shen Wan; and freshmen Amelia Bautz, Giada Garafolo, Olivia Halovatch, Maribelle Mikhael, Scarlett Russek, and Angelina Valentino. Coach Pohlman’s assistant coach is Bob Davis, who works with North Haven’s divers.