Print
E-Mail
tool name
closeTides regroup after sixth-place showing at state
Half of Gig Harbor relay team graduates; others needed to step up
Marques Hunter
of the Gateway
There isn’t a magical formula for the success of the Gig Harbor Tides girls swimming and diving team this season.
It’s actually quite simple: Work harder than last year. That’s when the Tides placed sixth at the Class 4A state meet at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way with 118.5 points.
Their top 10 finish was due in large part to three relay performances, in which they placed no worse than sixth and collected 96 points.
Gig Harbor had some of the best depth in the state.
The relays — which have proven to be Gig Harbor’s key to success — may have lost some ground after the Tides lost some of their best talent due to graduation.
Half of their relay swimmers — Kevlyn Richards, Alex Coffaro and Heide Luong — were vital pieces to their successful run to the state meet, which included a West Central District championship for the third consecutive year.
Still, Gig Harbor head coach Mike Kelly said he has a good core of returning veterans. They’re just going to have to work a lot harder.
“It’s hard to replace some of the talent we had in the medley (relay),” Kelly said. “The talent is here. It’s part of the coaching responsibilities to make sure they are worked properly at each practice.”
Gig Harbor doesn’t plan to lose a regular season meet. There, they haven’t slipped a beat. The Tides are currently 3-0 and recently beat Mount Tahoma.
One of the girls who is working hard to compete individually at this year’s state meet is senior Taylor Indahl, who kept her conditioning up during the summer and qualified for junior nationals in August.
“Even though we did lose those seniors, we are still a pretty well-rounded team,” said Indahl, who recently visited Boise State University on a recruiting trip. “I think it’s going to take a lot of hard work to (place in the top 10 in the state), but I think we are willing to get back to that.”
Gig Harbor will need swimmers like senior captain Lauren Biggs and senior Danielle Ellis, both of whom competed in at least one state relay event, to demonstrate a stronger sense of leadership.
“I just know I’m going to have to step up, and the girls will have to do the same,” Biggs said. “Stepping up this year will be a big thing for some of the girls who are more seasoned.”
That includes junior Yasi Fardi, a member of last year’s 200-free relay team that landed sixth at state.
“Last year, we had an advantage because we had strong seniors,” Fardi said. “I have to try and make it to state so we have more girls there.”
So far, Indahl is the only swimmer who has a state qualification time. She made the cut in the 200 IM (2:13.62) against North Thurston in the team’s first meet.
Kelly said some of this year’s standout swimmers have previously stayed in the shadows, but they’ll have to reveal themselves in the spotlight.
“We’ll work them hard until the third week of October and then start resting for various championship meets,” Kelly said.
Ellis said the team continues to improve.
“But there’s always room for improvement,” she said. “We all have our individual goals, and Mike (Kelly) is good at getting us to those and giving us workouts to individually improve.”
Kelly said he has a group of incoming freshmen who could help the Tides in the league and district meets.
Gig Harbor sophomore Colleen Sullivan, who competed at the state preliminaries as a freshman, said they’ll all have to push themselves to improve.
“The big thing about our team is that it’s about the team and not the individual,” Sullivan said. “We love to have our meets, and we love our relays.”
Gig Harbor swimming and diving
Coahes: Head coach Mike Kelly; assistant coach Pat Mahaffie; dive coach Liz Litsch.
2008 results: 12-0 dual-meet record, Narrows League champions, West Central District III champions, sixth place at Class 4A state championships.
Key losses: Kevlyn Richards, Heide Luong, Alex Coffaro.
Key returners: Taylor Indahl, Danielle Ellis, Lauren Biggs, Colleen Sullivan, Yasi Fardi, Alex Andren, Lydia Yekalam, Brianne Lind, Ashley Streich, Maggie Churchill, Amanda Williams, Morgan Cabe, Elyanna McCullough.
Newcomers: Amanda Smokoff, Sarah Campbell, Kiera McMenimen, Courtney Antilla.
Biggest upside: Team unity.
Captains: Ashley Streich, Lauren Biggs, Taylor Indahl.
Team goals: To go undefeated in dual-meet competition, perform well at league, district and state championships and finish the season with best times and great memories.
Teams to watch: Stadium, South Kitsap, Central Kitsap, Olympia, Beamer, Jefferson.
Biggest meets: Bainbridge Island, Stadium, South Kitsap, Central Kitsap, Olympia. Last year, Indahl competed with the 400-yard freestyle relay team that placed fifth in three minutes, 42.06 seconds. She also placed eighth at state in the 200 individual medley (2:10.65).
Tides Girls Swimming schedule
Sept. 10 vs. Shelton Win Sept. 15 at Rogers Win Sept. 17 at Mount Tahoma Win Sept. 22 vs. Foss Late Sept. 29 vs. Stadium 3:30 p.m. Oct. 1 vs. South Kitsap 3:30 p.m. Oct. 6 vs. Olympia 3:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at Lincoln 3:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at Curtis 6:45 p.m. Oct. 16 at Central Kitsap 3:30 p.m. Oct. 20 Divisionals for JV TBA Oct. 22 Narrows League diving TBA Oct. 23 League championships TBA Oct. 30 District meet TBA Nov. 13-14 State meet TBA