WW-PS girls fall in swim semis

Westfield holds on against Pirates

By: Justin Feil
   EWING — The West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls’ swim team ended its season much like it has many seasons in the recent past.
   The Pirates lost in a public state A semifinal, its first loss of the season, just shy of reaching a second straight state final but certainly not shy of anyone’s expectations. In fact, even in a 90-80 loss to Westfield on Friday, the Pirates came as close as anyone could have predicted to returning to a state final.
   "I told the girls at the end that I wasn’t too sure about our outlook for this year," said WW-P South head coach Paul Hamnett, whose team finished 14-1. "We proved we belonged this meet. That’s a credit to the girls. This senior class is incredible. All seven stepped up.
   "We’re losing our depth. We need a lot of underclassmen to step up much like this year’s seniors did. If they do that, maybe we can get back here again."
   Several underclassmen showed promise that the Pirates can return again with strong performances Friday. An all-underclassmen relay of Ali Lichtenstein, Evelyn Yuen, Milagros Simon and Gabi Feibel won the opening 200 medley relay to give the Pirates the early lead. Feibel turned right around and won the 200 freestyle, and later took the 100 free. Yuen won the 100 breaststroke and was second in the 200 individual medley. Simon won the 50 free to keep the score tied, 31-31, going into the 10-minute break. Kate Winters won the 500 free and 100 backstroke. Yuen, Simon, Feibel teamed with senior Jess Solloway to capture the 200 free relay.
   "I was pretty happy," Feibel said. "We all went in there to get as many big points for our team as we could. We all did the best for the team."
   The Pirates, however, came up a little short when Westfield had the speed and depth to capture the 400 free after holding a slim four-point lead going into the final event. WW-P South needed a first and third in the relay to win the meet.
   "Going into the meet, we knew it was going to be very difficult," Feibel said. "We knew we had to work our hardest if we wanted to win. We did. There were many girls who had their best times.
   "It was a very good meet," she added. "It was close and we knew it would be close. Good for Westfield. They’re a good team. It’s kind of upsetting that we didn’t win, but we did well this season."
   WW-P South exits with the Mercer County Championship as well as an unbeaten Colonial Valley Conference season and a third straight Central Jersey A championship. Feibel, a junior, will be part of a strong group of front-line swimmers that will need some depth to return to the state semifinals again.
   "We’re going to lose seven seniors and it’s going to be a real test for us," Feibel said. "The same thing happened last year, and the girls came back strong. The girls came back fabulous. I think we did better than many people expected us to do.
   "I don’t think many people thought we’d even get the CVC championship. A few teams in the CVC were amazing. They are and have always been. This year it was very difficult to get the CVC and Mercer County Championships. We just had a tremendous will to do well."
   That will not only propelled them to a couple of championships, but also allowed them to push Westfield the entire meet, from start to finish.
   "Their depth and our lack of being able to finish meets, which was something we had all year, hurt us at the end," Hamnett said. "We needed to use Gabi and Evelyn to win the other relays so we didn’t have them for the 400. Westfield’s deep and they capitalized."
   Westfield capitalized, but it was the Pirates who proved that they belonged in the semifinals once again. It wasn’t enough to just be there. Once again, it took an opponent’s best to end another great season for the WW-P South girls.
   "Getting back here was one thing," Hamnett said, "but competing was another. That was the best thing about today. We had a chance in the last relay. Getting here, getting through the CVC unbeaten, was great. But I’m glad we competed here."