Great Expectations for Blue Devil Girls' Swimmers
Experience counts and with another year under their belts, the athletes who comprise the Huntington High School girls' swimming and diving team should to be vastly improved from last season when the Blue Devils compiled a 1-9 mark.
"I have great expectations for the coming year," second year varsity coach Chris Helmke said. Huntington returns almost its entire 2009 roster after losing only three seniors to graduation.
Diver Molly Arceri, who captured league and county titles last year, returns to lead the Blue Devils. She finished 21st in the state and will be looking to take her skills to a new level. Kelly McConnell is also back and will strengthen Huntington's diving line-up.
This year's team will consist of six seniors, nine juniors and a solid field of younger swimmers. Helmke said he expects to see strong performances from returning All-League honorees Diana Harvey and Erica Flor as well as Samantha Mohr, Alexandra Durante, Taylor Palmer, Emily Maggio, Jessica Baik, Kaitlin Millner, Phoebe Curran, Page Bond, Sara Totura, Scout Ziegler and several others.
Helmke took over the varsity program when budget cuts led to the elimination of the swim team at J. Taylor Finley Middle School. For many years, Helmke had coached the team at Finley, where he teaches science. Finley swimmers are now eligible to compete with the varsity. "We're happy to welcome several new middle school swimmers to the squad, who we expect to make a positive contribution to our team's success this year," the coach said.
The fall campaign opens with non-league meets against Brentwood/Bay Shore and Deer Park/North Babylon. A challenging league schedule follows, including a key match-up with local rival Harborfields. Huntington will also square off against powerful opponents Connetquot and Sachem North.
Last year's lone Blue Devil victory came against West Babylon, 91-80. But, they came close in many other contests, dropping close battles against Connetquot (91-87), Half Hollow Hills (93-88), Hauppauge (94-87) and West Islip (53-47).
Veteran assistant coach Meg McConnell is also back in the fold.
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