Home | Login | Place an Ad | Classifieds | Contact Us
THE SUPER TEAM: Girls Swimming High School All-Stars 2002 JESSICA COOK (APPONEQUET) ANDREW T. GALLAGHER/Standard-Times special Right to left, New Bedford Super Team members Katelyn Chase and sisters Meaghan and Jillian Coache. Last year's Standard-Times Player of the Year came back strong and helped provide the Lakers with a one-two punch that, ultimately, put them fourth in the state meet. The junior had a better South Sectional than she did a state meet, defending her Sectional title in the 50 freestyle (26.26 seconds) and taking a third in the 100 free (55.59). She actually slipped off the starting block in the 50 but managed to pull out the win. In the state meet, Cook finished sixth in the 50 free (25.42) and 10th in the 100 free (55.48). "Jess is another all around swimmer," said coach Brett Pacheco. "I can put in any (event) and count on her to give it all she's got. She had a great season in the freestyle events." Cook was also the mainstay third-leg of Apponequet's 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams, which set school records in both events at the state meet, finishing third and fourth, respectively. They won the 400 in sectionals and finished second in the 200. In the Southern Conference Division II meet, Cook won the 50 and 100 free and helped the relay team win both the 200 and 400. TAYLOR FISHER (APPONEQUET) The third in Apponequet's formidable junior trio, Fisher quietly galvanized a lineup that made it impossible for opposing coaches to load up against a weak link in hopes of scoring points in team competition. Fisher made it prohibitive and reduced several competitions to an exercise of practice. She won the 100 backstroke in the South Sectional meet with a time of 1:01.75, a new school record, eclipsing the old mark by a full second. "Taylor had a very impressive meet at Sectionals. She broke some times that had been stable for a while," said Pacheco. "Winning the 100 back was amazing, no one deserves it more." Her personal-best 2:17.33 in the 200 individual medley, good for fourth place, would have been a new school record had Lindsay Woodward not broken the record first. At the state meet, Fisher took ninth in the 100 back and 13th in the 200 IM. She won both events in the Southern Conference Division II Championships, defending her title in the 200 IM. Fisher was also a mainstay on Apponequet's vaunted 200 and 400 freestyle relay teams, which set new school records in both events this year, winning at divisional and sectional levels (400), finishing second in sectionals (200) and taking third (200) and fourth (400) at the state meet. LESLIE HARTFORD (BISHOP STANG) The senior finished fourth in the 100 and 200 freestyles and anchored the 200 free relay to victory at the Conference Finals. At the Sectional Meet, she finished fourth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 free. At the state meet, she set a new school record, finishing seventh in the 200 free (2:01.40), 14th in the 100 free (56.57) and anchored the 200 free relay to 11th place (25.32). "Leslie makes everyone around her better and is happiest being just one of the girls," said coach Dave Ponte, who knows Hartford will leave a gaping hole in the Spartans' lineup. In her four years, Hartford is a four-time Southern Conference all-star, a two-time team captain, Stang's all-time leading point scorer with 789.5 and a three-time team MVP. She shares a school record as anchor of the 200 medley-relay and the 200 and 400 freestyle-relay teams. She was a member of Stang's Division 2 Conference champion squads of 1999 and 2000. She is ranked second in her class and hopes to attend Harvard or Duke University. JULIE GAUVIN (BISHOP STANG) If the Spartans can overcome the loss of Hartford to their program, Julie Gauvin will a lot to do with it. The freshman competed in 20 races during the season, finishing in first place 15 times while placing second in the other five. At the Division I Conference meet, Gauvin was a member of Stang's winning 200 free relay. She finished second in the 100 breaststroke and sixth in the 200 free. At Sectionals, she was fourth in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 free. At the state meet, Gauvin set a school record with a 1:10.53 (12th place overall) in the 100 breaststroke; she also took an 11th in the 200 free relay. Gauvin set freshman records for Stang in the 200 free (2:04.71), 100 fly (1:05.41), 100 free (57.53) and school records in the 200 IM (2:20.09), 500 free (5:36.38) and 400 free relay (3:51.95). Gauvin is an honors student and also swims for SouthCoast Aquatics in the off-season. KATELYN CHASE (NEW BEDFORD) A repeat member of the Standard-Times Super Team, Chase took two fifths in the South Sectional and had a sixth in the states. Showing versatility with her ability to handle a sprint (100 butterfly) and a marathon (500 freestyle) with equal ease, she posted her sixth in the states in the 100 fly with a time of 1:01.25. "All three years she's been a key member (of the team)," said assistant coach Brooke Ashley (Burgess). "She does everything really well, her major ones, and she does the 200 freestyle well." Chase's two fifths in the sectionals, in the 500 free (5:31.46) and in the 100 fly (1:02.69), kept New Bedford thinking positive as head coach Tim Curry battled diverticulitis. Her 500 free at states (29th in 5:46.51) wasn't her best, but she swam a 5:27.70 (fourth) in the event in the Southern Conference Division 1 meet and won the 100 butterfly (1:01.41), helping the Whalers finish fifth. MEAGHAN COACHE (NEW BEDFORD) Three Coache sisters have now graced the New Bedford swimming program, and Meaghan is the middle of the three. Michaela graduated, and Meaghan and Jillian represent the school on this year's Super Team. Meaghan, a senior and a member of the 2001 Standard-Times Super Team, is at her best in the 50 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. In the Southern Conference Division 1 meet, she finished fourth in the 50 freestyle (26.67) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:03.96). In the South Sectional meet, Meaghan had a pair of ninth-place finishes with a 26.85 in the 50 free and a 1:04.07 in the 100 fly. She took a 16th (26.19) in the 50 free in the state meet and a 19th (1:04 flat) in the 100 fly. JILLIAN COACH (NEW BEDFORD) Jillian, a sophomore, is the last in the line of Coaches, and like her sister Michaela, she excels in the 100 breaststroke. The 2001 Standard-Times Honorable Mention also swims the 100 freestyle. She had a second in the 100 freestyle (57.48) at the Southern Conference Division 1 meet and a fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:13.72). In the state meet, Jillian finished 20th in the 100 freestyle (57.43) and 25th in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.51). Jillian swam legs on the 200 medley-relay team (third in the Southern Conference Division 1 meet) and the 400 free-relay team (fifth in the Southern Conference Division 1 meet). HONORABLE MENTION Apponequet: Bridget Carreiro, Jr., diving; Sara Warren, Sr., 200 and 400 free relays; Cara Worcester, Jr., 200 and 400 free relays; Cori Pignatelli 200 and 400 free relays. New Bedford: Christie Sylvia, Sr., broke school record in the 100-yard backstroke (15th, 1:05.23) at state meet, regular relay participant. Bishop Stang: Rachel Ashley, Sr., Conference Champion 200 free relay, Conference all-star, Sectional qualifier in 100 Free, swam on all three Sectional and state championship relays; Aimee Raposo, So., Conference champion 200 free relay, Conference all-star, swam on all three Sectional and state championship relays; Amalia Zychowicz, So., Sectional qualifier 500 free; Sarah Hunt, So., Sectional qualifier 100 fly, Sectional & state medley relay; Jen Luiz, So., Sectional qualifier diving. This story appeared on Page C13 of The Standard-Times on December 9, 2002.
Terms of Use Copyright Privacy Policy Site Map Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2007 The Standard-Times. The Standard-Times maintains the copyright for all material posted here. Any reproduction for other than personal use will be considered a violation of that copyright.