Lichtenstein ahead of PASDA competitors

West Windsor resident named Division I’s most outstanding swimmer

By: Bob Nuse
   It didn’t take long for Dave and Fran Lichtenstein to realize their daughter Ali was a natural swimmer.
   "When she was 4½ years old we were on vacation and they had a swimming competition," recalls Dave Lichtenstein. "She was in the age group with the kids who were four and five and she won by a mile. You could see then that she was pretty good at it."
   Over the next eight years, Ali has continued to develop as a swimmer. After starting off with the Whalers program in West Windsor, Lichtenstein soon made the jump up to swimming competitively for Whitewaters Swimming. All she’s done since then is continue to improve.
   "I started when I was 6 with the Whalers team in the winter," she recalled. "When I was 7, I switched to September to March with the Whitewaters. I just like to be in the water and swimming. And I like the competition."
   This summer Lichtenstein has handled the competition rather well, especially at the recent PASDA championship meet, which was held at Rutgers University. Lichtenstein won three events in the girls’ 12-and-under division of Division I, while also helping her West Windsor Whalers team win the medley relay. For her efforts, she was named the outstanding swimmer in her age group for Division I.
   Lichtenstein finished first in the 50 freestyle, 50 backstroke and 100 individual medley, while also joining Carolyn Breden, Virginia Hung and Katherine Winters to win the 200 medley relay.
   "I’ve been doing a lot of training and trying to get better with every stroke," said Lichtenstein, who will be a seventh grader at Grover Middle School beginning next month. "In the summer we only have one hour a day, so it’s not as hard as when we’re doing Whitewaters and it’s five days a week for two-and-a-half hours each night."
   At this point, the 5-foot-7 Lichtenstein’s best stroke is the backstroke. But she has shown that she’s a pretty well-rounded swimmer. In fact, once she started with the Whalers program it was only a short time until she was moving up.
   "I think they saw that as a 6-year-old, Ali was doing well enough to be involved in the year-round program and she did well," her father said. "We felt pretty confident she could do well. We look at the races and the seed times and we knew she had a chance in all of her races."
   Lichtenstein was the most outstanding swimmer in the 10-and-under age group two years ago at the PASDA meet. She realizes that as she progresses, the competition will continue to get tougher and tougher. This past March, she established herself as one of the top backstrokers in the state, placing in the top 30 in all three of the backstroke events at the Junior Olympics.
   Her best performance came in the 50-yard backstroke, where she finished 17th. In all, she qualified for five individual events and one relay.
   "It’s hard during the school year to fit everything in," Ali said. "I get off the bus and run home and do homework so I can get it done before practice."
   What she’s accomplished certainly isn’t lost on her parents, who have seen her continue to get things done.
   "I have to give her credit," said Ali’s mother, Fran. "She is always able to get everything done. She comes home and does her homework and is very dedicated. She’s a straight-A student and she works hard at everything she does. We’re very proud of her."
   Ali also plays soccer, basketball and softball, so all of her time isn’t spent on schoolwork and swimming. And she certainly enjoys being part of a team heading to big meets.
   "It’s a lot of fun," she said. "You can watch your friends when it isn’t your turn to swim. It’s fun to be part of a team and be together at the meets. I really like it a lot."
   For the moment, Ali gets a short break from competitive swimming. But beginning next month she’ll be right back in the pool getting ready for a higher level of competition as she moves into the 14-and-under division.
   "We start again in September with swim practice," she said. "And there is soccer and basketball and then softball. It keeps me busy, but I like it."
   And as she’s shown from the beginnning, she’s pretty good at it as well.
   Lichtenstein’s performance helped the Whalers to a second place team finish behind Flemington-Raritan in Divison I of the PASDA meet. Her Whalers teammate, Ben Bugge, won three events in the boys’ 8-and-under division, capturing the 25 free, 25 breast and 25 butterfly.
   Kate Head of Nassau Swim Club helped her team to a third place finish in Division I by winning three events as well. Head was first in the girls’ 17-and-under division in the 50 back, 50 free and 100 individual medley.