Greenwich swims past New Canaan to get to 3-0
Three meets, three victories — that’s how the Greenwich High School girls swimming team’s season has gone so far.
Displaying their impressive depth, the Cardinals won 10 of 12 events on their way to registering a 104-59 victory over visiting New Canaan in an FCIAC West Region meet.
“There were a lot of really great races, it was fun to watch,” GHS coach Lorrie Hokayem said. “The girls are working hard and they put on a good performance today.”
The meet began with Greenwich’s Sammy Ennis, Meghan Lynch, Caterina Li and Sabrina Hobert combining for a winning time of 1:51.41 in the 200-yard medley relay.
“I was psyched about how our relays swam. we are moving people around,” Hokayem said. “Our second and third relays had some really nice times, too.”
In the 200-yard freestyle, freshman Payton Foster touched the wall first in 1:55.06 for Greenwich. Foster also took second in the 100 backtroke (:59.71).
“It is so cool to be a part of this team as a freshman,” Foster said. “All the girls are so nice and it’s fun to practice with them. It is a really good experience.”
Greenwich’s Victoria Liu (2:01.05) was the runner-up in the 200 freestyle and New Canaan’s Kelei Haley placed third (2:02.79).
Lynch, the defending Class LL and State Open champion in the 200-yard individual medley, won the race Friday in 2:06.98. Maddie Haley of New Canaan placed second (2:13.71), followed by Sydney Jee of GHS (2:18.33).
“It was really fun, New Canaan had some good races, but I think our team performed really well,” Lynch said. “Everyone swam great and I’m really happy with how everyone did.”
Hobert was the 50 freestyle winner (25.55), followed by teammate Sophie Wang (25.78).
On the 1-meter diving board, Charlotte Frank of New Canaan took top honors. Frank, who won the Class LL diving title in 2019, totaled 248.63 points. Annie Bingle of Greenwich placed second (243.45) and Olivia Quinn of the Rams took third (242.93).
Li finished first in the 100 butterfly with a time of 59.65 seconds. Kelci Haley of the Rams placed second in 1:01.82. Li was also the 100 breaststroke winner, clocking in at 1:09.67.
“I’ve been training really well with the team and I had a pretty good swim in th 100 fly,” Li said. “It was good to get in a race in the 100 breaststroke, since I hadn’t raced it too much. Given the circumstances, our times are pretty good. Our training has been going really well.”
Lynch had a first-place finish in the 100 freestyle (52.58), followed by Hobert (56.96). In the 500 freestyle, Liu placed first (5:22.59).
Hobert, Emma Robinson, Wang and Liu teamed up for a first-place time of 1:46 in the 200 freestyle relay for the Cards. Maddie Haley won the 100 backstroke for New Canaan in 58.23.
“Our first meet got canceled, so this was our first meet and it was really great to see the girls get up again, since we didn’t have a meet in many months,” Haley said. “The 100 backstroke, I’ve been training for that one, so that was good to get to swim that again for the first time this season. We have been training really well and we didn’t back down.”
Added Rams coach Kat Munson: “What I really liked about today is that they attacked those races. I spoke to them how I think it’s great that we’re in the region we are in. It has powerhouse teams and it gives you the opportunity to push yourself to see what you can do. We have some girls who were under the radar, who stepped up today with impressive swims.”
The race concluded with Foster, Liu, Li and Lynch winning the 400 freestyle relay (3:42.41).
“We have Darien in our next meet, so I am excited for that,” Lynch said. “It should be a close meet with a lot of great races.”
GREENWICH FIELD HOCKEY
Greenwich won its second straight game, downing host Stamford, 7-0, in an FCIAC West Region matchup on Friday.
Agustina Ferrario tallied twice to pace the 2-1 Cardinals. Klara Mueffelmann, Ellie Ybarra, Isa Lattuada, Zita Cohen and Kathryn O’Donnell also added goals for the Cardinals. Cohen and Mueffelmann also had one assist apiece for the victors.
The Cards held Stamford to no shots on goal.