WEST WINDSOR: Pirate girls swimming into sectional finals

Michibata saves personal bests for state meet

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   Cori Michibata seemed tailor-made for one of West Windsor-Plainsboro South’s best programs.
   The daughter of Princeton University men’s tennis coach Glenn Michibata did not take up the sport that her father played professionally, instead opting for the pool.
   ”I never really got into tennis,” said Cori, a WW-P South freshman. “I was considering going into softball, but I tried swimming. My friend told me to do a rec team and I just kept going.
   ”My brother is playing tennis. My dad’s very supportive of me.”
   The Pirate girls swimming team is reaping the rewards of Michibata’s athletic choice as she helped it advance to today’s Central Jersey A Division finals against Cherry Hill East with a 93-77 win over Cherry Hill West on Tuesday. She started off the win over West with a strong backstroke leg for the winning medley relay and helped essentially close the meet by leading a 1-2 finish with Brynja Winnan in the 100 back. She will try to duplicate her performance today for a sectional crown.
   ”It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Michibata said. “I know it’s big and everyone is really excited. I’m not really sure how to take it. It’s never happened to me before. I’ve never done anything like this.”
   Michibata is getting more accustomed to challenges in her first state tournament experience.
   ”The hardest part is meeting everyone’s expectations,” she said. “Everyone has good days and bad days. You just have to hope for the best.
   ”I think it could have been a lot harder to adjust, but everyone on the team was so welcoming. They treated the freshmen as part of their family. It’s like an extended family.”
   The Pirates family is the lone area girls team to reach a sectional final. In North Jersey Section 2, A Division, third-seeded Montgomery High School was eliminated by second-seeded Westfield, 98-72, in the semifinals on Tuesday. Kara Dubiel and Megan Lydzinski won two events apiece for the Cougars.
   ”I had a lot of top times,” said MHS coach Claire Scarpa. “We just didn’t have the depth to match them. I tried splitting up some relays to try to match them. The 200 free relay, they just out-touched us. We both went 1:40s, which is so fast.
   ”We were 10-2 so it was an excellent season,” she added. “We had a great time and we had so much fun. That’s what matters most to these girls. We made the most of it. We went in and gave Westfield a good fight and had a good meet. We won the Skyland Conference and we broke a lot of records.”
   In Central Jersey B girls, third-seeded WW-P North lost at second-seeded Ocean, 91-79. Knight winners were Connie Zhang (200 individual medley), Rocio Riestra (50 free), Virginia Hung (100 butterfly), Christine McCarthy (100 free) and the 200 free relay.
   The second-seeded Knight boys lost to third-seeded Ocean, 97-73, Tuesday despite a win by Nathan Hirshbein in the 50 free and a win in the 200 free relay.
   The Pirate girls will swim for their sixth sectional crown in the last seven years and third straight today, though it faces a new challenger in Cherry Hill East, which was moved into the sectional this season. East beat West when the two matched up in the regular season and WW-P South is expecting a tougher meet today than it had Tuesday.
   ”We swam very well and we knew we had to,” said Pirates coach Paul Hamnett. “The difficulty is going to be doing it again and again and again. To win a state title, we essentially have to do it four times. If anyone’s up to it, it’s certainly these girls.
   ”It was a pretty close meet. In the end, the sprint freestyles were the difference. They took advantage of us in the distance frees. The sprints were the key. We sealed it when we went 1-2 in the backstroke.”
   Michibata was happy to do her part. Hamnett feared that West had a hidden standout backstroker, so he pulled her out of the 500 free so she could focus on the backstroke. It paid off with a lifetime best swim to help the Pirates upend a West team that had the higher seed with more power points.
   ”I wasn’t really thinking about power points,” Michibata said. “I knew I had to swim my best times. That was a really good meet for me. I got best times in both events I swam.”
   Michibata’s addition to the Pirates has made them that much tougher to beat. While her main focus has been on the backstroke, she is also starting to work on her distance freestyle, just as she is with her X-Cel Swimming club team.
   ”What it really helps is my ability to move around Brynja, which allows me to move around Meredith,” Hamnett said of Michibata’s addition. “I have confidence in her backstroke. Her addition to the relay allows me more flexibility where I put other girls.”
   Michibata is looking to help the Pirates in any way she can. Tuesday, all it took was a couple of strong backstroke events.
   ”It was a pretty close meet so we were really happy,” Michibata said. “If a few things hadn’t turned out the way they turned out, it could have been anyone’s game.”
   The same could be said of Michibata’s athletic pursuits. She quite naturally could have been a part of another strong Pirate program, but it’s the girls swimming squad that is realizing the benefits of the addition of Cori Michibata.