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10/21/2021 12:00 AMWith a pool in her backyard and her mother being a swimmer, Alice Scalmani found that the sport just came naturally to her. Alice joined the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team in her freshman year and is putting together a solid career and that saw her earn All-SCC accolades in three events as a sophomore last season.
Growing up, Alice tried numerous different sports such as soccer, gymnastics, and dance, but none of them seemed right for her. Alice’s mother Laura, who swam for her high school in Italy, encouraged Alice to take the sport seriously. Once she started competing for the Hamden-North Haven swim team at age seven, Alice knew that she found a perfect fit.
“I have been swimming ever since I was a little kid. I had a pool in my backyard and did Mommy & Me sessions at the rec center in North Haven. My mom encouraged me and, when I first signed up, I really liked it,” says Alice, now a junior. “I had tried a lot of sports. I thought swimming would just be another. But I thought I was better at swimming and liked it a lot.”
Alice swam with the Hamden-North Haven program until she started high school. She now competes for Bulldog Swimming based out of New Haven. When Alice was with Hamden-North Haven, her coach Rick Lucan played a huge role in her progression, particularly with her signature event, the breaststroke. After watching the older girls swim, Alice felt that she was ready to compete at the high school level and is now teammates with many of those same people.
“I was very excited to start high school, because I knew that some of the high schoolers on the team had swam with me previously on the club team,” Alice says. “I was excited to swim with [2020 graduate] Angela Gambardella. She was a huge role model for me. Getting to swim with her in high school was something I was really looking forward to.”
Alice immediately became a difference maker for the North Haven girls’ swim team when she joined the program in her freshman year. Alice competed in the 100 breaststroke and also swam the breaststroke in the 200 individual medley, in addition to swimming the 100 butterfly and the 500 freestyle.
In her first season with the team, Alice helped North Haven claim its first state title with a victory at the Class M State Championship. Alice looked up to the senior leaders on the team and knew that North Haven had a chance for a special season. Alice adds that Martha Phelan, who was the team’s head coach at the time, gave her confidence by seeing the potential in her right away.
“My first year was when we won the State Tournament. I knew going into it we would be very powerful,” says Alice. “We had a lot of fast and competitive swimmers. I knew there would be pressure, but it was one of my most fun years yet. I knew the captains, and it really was a great first year experience with a high school team.”
Alice’s second year with North Haven was a season full of changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every team in state had to participate in virtual meets throughout the season, and there were no state competitions held at all. Despite the obstacles, Alice still earned All-SCC Division I accolades in the 100 breaststroke, the 200 individual medley, and as part of North Haven’s 200 medley relay by virtue of her performance at the SCC Championship.
“With COVID, my sophomore year was tough. We didn’t know what to expect. We didn’t know if we would even have a SCC competition,” Alice says. “[Current senior] Giulia [Faulkner] really pushed me a lot in the 200 IM. I didn’t think I would do as well in the breaststroke. I was really surprised, but I was glad I was able to make All-SCC, even without in-person dual meets.”
Alice’s junior season has also seen a few changes, including a lot of turnover on North Haven’s roster and a new head coach. As the team learns to brave the waters, interim Head Coach Bob Lewis says that Alice is a staple of consistency for North Haven.
“Alice has brought a consistency to the program in a year that has been anything but consistent,” says Lewis. “She has been a part of the core of people who have kept this team on a positive run.”
As a freshman, Alice was shy and needed to learn how to manage her time as a high school swimmer. A few years later, Alice has not only improved her skills in the pool, but she also feels optimistic and ready to compete every time she hits the water. With one more year to go after this season, Alice’s goals are to keep lowering her times and become just like the senior captains she idolized when she first started with the team.
When she’s in a race, Alice draws motivation from the opponents competing against her, as well as the people who are cheering for her. After spending the majority of her life in the pool, Alice feels grateful to have shared the experience with all of her teammates through the years.
“I’m very happy I chose to do swimming. It’s something that has really improved my life. I love doing it and making new friends,” Alice says. “I’m so close to everybody on my club team and the high school team. It has helped me a lot, and I love doing it.”