She-Sharks Attack Pittsford for Title

October 16, 2001 - The Pittsford girls swim team entered Fairport She-Shark infested waters on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in Pittsford. With their best team performance of the year, the Fairport girls varsity swim team dominated by winning 10 of 12 events in a 102-83 victory.

The victory earned Fairport the Division 1 championship. Last year, Fairport shared the title with Pittsford and Webster. Fairport entered the match ranked No. 1 locally, and Pittsford had a close No. 2 ranking. But Fairport coach, Mike Kennedy, put forth a powerful line-up and the girls responded with 14 personal best times.

The meet opened with Pittsford capturing first and third place in the 200 medley relay, to stake a 10-4 lead. Nicole DiBello, Jamie Adams, Christy Breen, and Jessica Blaha finished second with a time of 1:57.77.

Fairport captured a 1-2 finish in the 200 free with Marlys Fuqua and Breen finishing at 2:00.48 and 2:01.21, respectively. Stephanie Chan swam to a personal best time of 2:10.81, finishing sixth.

Fairport followed with another 1-2 finish in the 200 individual medley. Adams swam to a 2:20.11 finish capturing first place. Erin Legg finished third and DiBello fourth. Fairport had captured the lead, 25-21.

Now came the moment Becky Potvin and Blaha were waiting for, the 50 free sprint. It was a show-down among the area's three best sprinters, including Katie Wilson from Pittsford. In an incredibly close race, Fairport's Potvin touched first with a time of 25.59, and Fairport's Blaha finished third with a time of 25.95. A mere .36 seconds separated the top three finishers. Katelyn Byrnes captured an important point finishing fifth with a time of 27.75.

Fairport had streched it's lead to 35-27, and it was time to watch Laurissa Prystaj perform her acrobatics in the diving competition. As usual, Laurissa captured first place with a total of 254 points. The crowd roared when she nailed a difficult dive with the three judges awarding her scores of 7, 7, and 7.5 points.

With Fairport leading 41-36, Breen put forth a powerful and courageous effort in the 100 fly. She held on to capture first place with a time of 1:01.95. Megan McGraw captured fifth with a time of 1:08.56, and Katie Barbato finished sixth with a time of 1:09.02. Pittford had closed to within 48-45, but the freestyle events were coming up, and Fairport felt very confident.

Fairport's confidence in the freestyle events was rewarded with a 1-3-4 finish in the 100 free. Potvin powered to another first place finish with a time of 55.20. Blaha captured crucial third place points with a time of 56.65. Chan swam her personal best time of 58.57 to capture important fourth place points.

In the 500 free, Fairport's dominance continued. Fuqua, Adams, and DiBello finished 1-2-4. Fairport finished first and third in the 200 free relay. Potvin, Blaha, Breen, and DiBello powered to a 1:43.86 first place finish. Byrnes, Chan, Legg, and Fuqua finished third at 1:47.24, and Karalyn Wendell, Gillian Micoli, Katie Barbato and Clare Ostron finished fifth with three of the swimmers posting personal best times.

Heading into the back event, Fairport's lead had stretched to a comfortable 81-58. McGraw, Beth Kenney, and Jen Alderman placed 4-5-6 in the back. Alderman swam a personal best time of 1:14.68.

The 100 breast proved to be one of the more exciting races of the meet. Legg placed first with a personal best time of 1:11.95. She fended off stiff competition from the Pittsford swimmer. Ostrom finished fourth and Kellie Kong finished sixth.

Coach Kennedy had put together a very effective line up to this point. But Fairport fans know that he always saves something for the final 400 relay event. Potvin, Fuqua, Legg, and Adams finished easily in first place. McGraw, Chan, Kong, and Byrnes finished in third, and Wendell, Micoli, Alderman, and Kenney finished fifth.

In this year's meeting of two power houses, Fairport prevailed with a score of 102-83.

Originally published in the Perinton-Fairport Post

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2001 Team

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