Pittsford rallies to defeat rival Fairport

Jeff DiVeronica
Staff writer

CARLOS ORTIZ staff photographer Pittsford's Jenny Lewis kicks in with her leg of the 200-yard medley relay, helping the Panthers to a winning time of 1:50.99 in Thursday's Monroe County swim meet against rival Fairport.

(September 29, 2005) — PERINTON — Fairport trailed Pittsford by 10 points heading into the final race of Thursday's Monroe County girls swimming showdown, so the Red Raiders knew they needed to sweep first (worth eight points), second (four) and third (two) to upset their rival or at least go 1-2 to tie.

For half of the 400-yard freestyle relay, that's exactly what they were doing and it had the throng of bare-chested Fairport guys who painted their torsos red with blue lettering going wild. One Fairport relay team was leading by more than a body length and another was head-to-head with Pittsford fighting for second.

But Pittsford freshman Meghan Green swam a strong third leg to keep it close and Hailey Weniger took care of the rest.

The senior zoomed away from the one Fairport relay her squad had been close with, then left the one that had been leading in her wake, too, to finish first, lifting the Panthers to a thrilling, 99-87, comeback win at Fairport.

"We just get so fired up for this meet," said Weniger, who also won the 500 freestyle, was on the triumphant 200 free relay team and was second in the 200 free. "We get so excited because it's Fairport and they've always been our rivals."

It was the fourth straight dual-meet win over Fairport (4-1) and ran Pittsford's streak to 46 straight, but Thursday was just the prelude to their usual battle for the Section V Class A title, which has resided in Pittsford the past three years.

"The girls swam super, but they had to because of Fairport," said veteran Panthers coach Marty Keating. "(Fairport was) busting us, but our strength is the last six events."

Talented junior Erin McGraw, the meet's only double-winner (200 freestyle/100 backstroke), led Fairport's early surge. The Raiders' lead grew as large as 56-38 after Lauren Dufault and freshman Jenna Wood went 1-2 in the 100 butterfly, the sixth event, but Pittsford (4-0) pecked its way back. It finally recaptured the lead, 73-67, after the 200 freestyle relay.

That's when the tide shifted.

Pittsford earned 12 points in that race to Fairport's two. The Raiders were hurt by a disqualification for leaving the block too soon. Had that not occurred, Pittsford would have only held an 8-6 advantage from that race.

"I'm not going to point fingers because it takes 12 events to win, but without that disqualification I think we win the meet," Fairport coach Mike Kennedy said. "We had a mental mistake."

If Fairport hadn't been DQ'd it may have been closer than 10 points going into the final race. But it wasn't, so Kennedy split up the personnel on his relays. Without the DQ, he thought his team of Dufault, Devin Tyagi, McGraw and Wood could have won the final event.

Despite falling behind in that race, the Pittsford team of Lindsay Wahl, Jenna Arington, Green and Weniger were confident.

"We train for this,'' said senior Emily Wells, a co-captain with Arington. "We train to be in that situation where you dive in and it might not look like you're going to win, but we do.''

Originally published in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

Pittsford tops Fairport Swimmers

The She-Sharks record 41 best times in the loss.

There was standing room only in the Fairport High School pool on Sept. 29, as Fairport varsity swimming and diving team faced their rival Pittsford.

The She-Sharks swam with speed, dived with grace, and provided their cheering fans with pool/school records and 41 personal best times. But unfortunately, in the end it was not enough to beat Pittsford.

While the meet started with a 4-10 lead for Pittsford, the Fairport 200-yard medley relay teams poured it on, with 10 of the 12 swimmers marking personal best times. Taking second was the Fairport relay team of Heather Moore, Andrea Hageman, Emily Gardner, and Morgan Reisch. Brenna O'Neill, freshman April Miller, Stephanie Gross, and Meghan Ingerick took fourth, and Staci Woytash, Tiffany Chiang, freshman Ester Shin, and Susan Yang came in sixth.

Fairport's Erin McGraw easily swam to first place in the 200 free, with freshman Katelin Webster swimming a personal best time for fifth, and Nicole Stuver coming in sixth. Score after two events was Fairport 11, Pittsford 19.

Fairport She-Sharks rallied for a 1-2-3 sweep in the 200 individual medley with personal best times for all, as freshman Jenna Wood touched first, Emily Gardner second and Carrie Ostrom third. The fans went wild after seeing the scoreboard - Fairport now had 24, while Pittsford was at 22.

After the 50 freestyle, the score remained in Fairport's favor, as Devina Tyagi came in first, Reisch fourth and Shin sixth. Tyagi and Shin both had personal best times. The score was 32-30 in Fairport's favor

The meet moved to the diving pool, with Fairport divers showing the fans they have what it takes. Becky Bersani and Gretchen Schroeder both scored personal bests, with Bersani coming in first and Schroeder taking second. Freshman Jennifer Chiang followed with a third place finish, racking up 13 of 16 total diving points with another Fairport 1-2-3 sweep. The score: 45-33.

The excitement continued as the Fairport 100 flyers swam personal best times all around. Lauren Dufault took first, Wood second, and Gross fifth. Fairport continued to rack up points, with the total now 56-38.

Fairport took four points in the 100 free, with Tyagi taking third with a personal best time. Gardner came in fifth and Hageman sixth. Fairport was still ahead at 60-50.

The distance swimmers came next with the 500 freestyle. Dufault took second, Sarah Lakehal-Ayat fifth, Stuver sixth. The score, Fairport 65, Pittsford 61.

The crowd was on its feet cheering as the 200 freestyle relay team of McGraw, Wood, Tyagi and Hageman came in first, but later watched as the scoreboard showed Pittsford taking 12 of the 14 relay points. The first-place Fairport team was disqualified for an early start. The team of Webster, Ingerick, Ostrom and Reisch came in third, with Miller, Gross, O'Neill, and Chiang taking fourth. Score: Fairport 67, Pittsford 73.

The crowd couldn't take their eyes off the pool for the next two events. McGraw edged out Pittsford in the 100 backstroke, recording another personal best time. Moore took fifth place and Woytash sixth. In the 100 breast, Hageman came in second, Ostrom, with a personal best in third, and Shin with a personal best in sixth. The score, going into the last relay, was now 74-82.

In a strategic move, coach Mike Kennedy decided to break apart his planned 400 freestyle relay team in order to try to win more points. If Fairport swept the event, they would win the meet, and would tie with a first and second place finish. The crowd was hushed as the starter sounded, but then there was absolute bedlam, with everyone on their feet cheering.

The relay team of McGraw, Wood, Tyagi, and Hageman was in the lead much of the race, but in the end came in second, with Gardner, Dufault, Ostrom, and Reisch third, and Webster, Woytash, Chiang, and Moore in fourth. Final score: Fairport 87, Pittsford 99.

While team co-captains Bersani, Moore and Schroeder were obviously disappointed with the final score, they were very pleased with their team's performance, and are looking forward to facing Pittsford again in sectional competition.

Originally published in the Perinton-Fairport Post.

2005

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