By JENNIFER GENTILE
MEDFORD—The Stonerose girls varsity swim team – a coop team between Melrose and Stoneham – are enjoying their first-ever combined season as they reach the half way mark on their fall schedule.
Some early strength has been in specialty strokes and relays, and some Melrose swimmers have been impressive.
One of the best indicators of success is seeing swimmers drop times while also winning races. That’s been the case for some Melrose swimmers.
Captain Kara Sacco has dropped a lot of time in the 200 and 500 free and won the races multiple times. Marta Francis has won the 50 free and 100 breast and finished top 3 in the 500 free. Tierra Pornkittichotchareon has dropped lots of time and been dominant in the 200 IM and 100 Fly. And according to Melrose coach Alex Pennachio, freshman Anna Pollica has been a huge help to the team by racing just about every race and doing so confidently and competitively.
“We have had a lot of success with our distance events this season. Our distance swimmers have won a number of races in the 200 and 500 this season and have dropped a ton of time,” he confirms. “Our goal is always to drop time. Swimming is about working hard in practice to improve yourself.”
Pennachio also points to success in the backstroke. “We’ve also seen a lot of recent success in the 100 back, which I credit to new assistant coach Mackenzie Day who specialized in the backstroke in high school and college.”
Relay is always an exciting opportunity and this season Stonerose has enjoyed an A-team relay made up of Kara Sacco, Marta Francis, Sara Myagmarjav, and Tierra Pornkittichotchareon. “They’ve been competitive at every meet,” confirms the coach.
Pennachio points to one particular meet, although a loss, that best showcased Stonerose’s ability. “At our Arlington meet every single swimmer dropped time in all of their races from the previous meet. I have never seen that many best times in a meet before. It was very impressive and fun to watch.”
As they round out their regular season, they have small goals and a particular rival on the calendar they’re looking forward to: Wakefield on October 22 at their home base at Medford High.
“Wakefield is always the meet circled on a Melrose team’s calendar. It’s our last regular season meet and there is a lot of anticipation. While we may be the smallest team in the league which puts us at a disadvantage on the scoresheet, we know that by focusing on our personal goals throughout the season we make each other stronger and we make the team stronger.”
