By: centraljersey.com
After strong showings at the 28th annual Hornet Relays during the winter break, the Lawrence High boys and girls swim teams are ready to plunge into the second half of the season.
Lawrence’s girls squad won the Hornet Relays, held at Hamilton West, for the third consecutive year while the boys team finished second to Steinert.
"I think we have a renewed sense of urgency," Cardinals coach Mike Underwood said. "We’re very focused on the second half of the season. We’re in a good position record-wise right now, but we’re hungry as we move forward to counties and potentially getting into the state tournament.
"We’re definitely going to be swimming against some very strong programs in the CVC (Colonial Valley Conference); both West Windsor programs, North and South, are fantastic. When we go against Hopewell Valley (on Jan. 18) I would assume it’s going to be for the Patriot (Division) banner. They beat us last year. It’s going to be a little bit extra special to try for a little bit of redemption. That’s going to be an exciting day for us.
"We have a light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re stepping it up as well."
Lawrence’s boys improved to 5-2 after Tuesday’s win over Nottingham, while the girls raised their record to 3-3.
At the Hornet Relays, Lawrence’s girls won five of the day’s eight events. Highlights included the 200-meter freestyle relay, won by Melanie Webber, Bridget Smith, Hillary Hargraves-Dix, and Lindsey Freitag, and the 50 butterfly relay, won by Erin Keane, Laura Schofield, Nickki Tunnard, and Andrea Tunnard.
"Our final relay, our 4×200, looked so, so fast," Underwood said. "I was really proud of the way they did that. It was a nice way for them to end the meet. They made a statement; a very fast statement. They just looked fantastic.
"Our last relay going into the break, the 50 butterfly, I had two girls that are freshmen and only did butterfly very sparingly through practices. It wasn’t a surprise, but it was a nice motivating factor to see those girls take a first place. We had some good momentum going into the second half. I think that was another key race for us."
Also winning were the 100 IM team of Webber, Allie Drury, Freitag and Caitlin Lavery; the 50 backstroke team of Lauren Szolomayer, Schofield, N. Tunnard and Katie Pearce; and the 50 breaststroke squad of Webber, Briana Logue, Catherine Marencik and Lavery.
"We had enjoyable days, absolutely," Underwood said. "It’s been a real nice thing that Hamilton West has been putting on for teams in the county. It breaks up the monotony of winter practicing. We’re on the more fortunate side than some of the other schools. We had the pool available to us every day of break.
"With that being said, it was very good for our kids to see a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel rather than just come in and practice every day. It was a nice reward for them. It’s something both our boys and girls teams look forward to going to every year."
The boys team won two events at the Hornet Relays, and finished six points behind Steinert.
Leading the way for the Cardinals were the 50 backstroke team of Matt Franceshini, Max Reitz, Patrick Lavery, Peter Finnerty and the 50 freestyle squad of Lou DiTommaso, Ed Zeng, Sam Sciarra and Finnerty.
"We had a couple boys missing that day," Underwood said. "Steinert won it and put together a really strong lineup. We were happy to take second to a team like that. They definitely deserved to win that day.
"Our 50 free relay team won that relay substantially. They really went fast. I was proud of that really, as well as the others."
The relays provided Underwood with the chance to put swimmers in events they might not ordinarily race.
"When you have to put four people in an event instead of three like a dual meet, every school is forced to show how deep they are with talent," Underwood said. "Plus, with some people away for the holidays, it gives lots of people opportunities to get some swims that they typically might not in a dual meet.
"It makes me as a coach more knowledgeable about our team, and that in turn makes our team more dangerous going forward. We have more information on them."
One of the pieces of information Underwood gleaned from the meet was that the Cardinals have many talented freshmen.
"They’re going to make our program strong, not only this year, but for the next three years," Underwood said. "Lawrence swimming is in good hands, not only now, but for the future also.
"I’m really proud of my team and I’m really proud of my assistant coaches (Brendan Cartlidge and Kim Greenfield). They’re putting in well above and beyond what is needed. I appreciate all the work they’ve been doing. It’s showing in the improvement of all the swimmers." Improvement on display as the Cardinals splash through the rest of the season.

