The Frog Hollow Swim & Tennis Club has won three of its five meets in the New Jersey Swimming and Diving Conference (NJSDC).
Maureen McKenna, who competes in the 15-18 age group and also serves as an assistant coach, is undefeated thus far. In addition, Anna Kottakis (8U); Celia Kottakis and Jay Zebrowski (9-10); Jane Pruszkowski, Robert Seraji and Matt Zebrowski (11- 12); and Steven Deleo, 13-14, have each scored a pair of victories.
Other winners include Derek Astarita (8U); Sydney Devoe, Tara Lenahan, Paul Tomaszewski and Jay Zebrowski (9-10); Mike Astarita and Haley Tomaszewski (11-12); Kieran Lenahan, Luke McNally and Megan O’Donnell (13-14), and Ryan Behr and Rachel Lutz (15-18).
Georgann Tice, now in her fourth year as head coach, said her team is using the upcoming Olympic games in Beijing as a training tool.
“We’re trying to emulate the best U.S. swimmers,” she said. “We may not be as strong or as fast as Michael Phillips, but we can sure streamline as well.”
Tice also noted that Frog Hollow’s senior swimmers practice for at least 90 minutes five days a week, while adding that the hard work pays off.
“We emphasize quality yardage and we do drills for the four strokes,” the coach said. “We practice starts and turns. Our break outs set the tone for races, and we have also been working on driving into the finishes. Some races come down to the hundredth of a second. There is no magic on race day. If you do slow turns in practice, you will do slow turns in a meet.
Other swimmers who have put points on the board for Frog Hollow include: (8U) Taylor Friedman, Louise McCrone, Lizzie Hogan, Brandon Hornlein, Zach Kazsmarek, Arek Moczulski, Joe Gottstine; (9-10) Savannah Januzzi, Ethan Dobrynski, Alyxa Olsen, Grace McCone, Jackie Deleo, Rebecca Tomaszewski; (11-12) Kaspar Moczulski, Nick Coletrella, Emily Kaczmarek, Pat Astarita; (13- 14) Riley O’Brien and Sonny Gottstine; and (15-18) Skyler Lutz, Rob Masterson and Aubrey Deleo.
Four-year-old Eva Kottakis is the team’s youngest swimmer. In addition to Maureen McKenna, Shannon McKenna and Rachel Abadie also serve as assistant coaches.
Tice added that the South Amboy club will host NJSDC championships on July 29 and 30 in a trial and final format, similar to the Olympics. Swimmers make finals by qualifying in the top six in morning trial sessions.