2013 BHS Girls Swim & Dive Team - Season Kickoff !

2013 BHS Girls Swim & Dive Team

By Michael Palicz

This season the 2013 Brookfield High School Girls Swim & Dive Team will look to defend its first ever SWC Championship title and hopes to continue to build upon its past success.   The 2013 Bobcat team will be a more experienced, confident and battle tested team with 8 returning seniors and a first ever SWC win under their belt.

The team is led by 8 returning seniors:  Anna Brown, Katie Dixon, Marilyn Duong, Anna Fernandez, Stephanie Ferrarie, Kelly Lappin, Sam Palicz & Sam Russo.  Strong performances will also be expected in the pool from Junior Megan Contarino, and Sophomores Ali Bowers, Rachel Brown, LeAnna Murphy, Carly Palicz & Brie Wurst.  The Bobcats also welcome back sophomore divers Ana Kavanagh and Dana Sherr and will look to them to earn much needed points on the board.  The girls have been busy in the off season, adding more dives to their list.

Brandt Nigro returns for his 5th exciting season as the girls Head Coach.   Under the direction of Coach Nigro, the team has improved each and every year.  With the addition of 6 freshmen and new Assistant Coach Austin Mizzell, the team continues to grow in both numbers and talent. 

"I'm excited to see how the team will handle the challenge of defending our first-ever SWC title, said Coach Nigro. As a program, an SWC title was something we were always chasing, now that we have I, we'll be the team everyone is gunning for, and it should make for a very fast and exciting season.

2012 was a historic year for Brookfield - it won’t be easy for the girls to improve upon last year, after all they concluded their season with an SWC championship, finished Runner Up at the Class M State Finals, and in 6th place at the overall State Opens.   The team has lost 3 swimmers to graduation.  All-American Maddy Smart was a huge contributor not only in her individual events, but in the relays as well.  Andrea Jelaska was relied on to score points in the Distance Free events; and Jackie Letizia consistently earned points swimming Butterfly and the IM.  All of the upper classmen will need to step it up to fill the void.

“The conference is wide-open this year...with Weston and Laurelton Hall looking like the teams to beat once again in the dual meet season. Pomperaug (who won the SWC Championships 4 years in a row before Brookfield won last season) has reloaded with a lot of talented swimmers - they'll be looking to reclaim their spot on top. And, as always Newtown will be tough with their depth in the water and on the board”.

With 16 returning veteran swimmers, this year’s Brookfield team should once again be very strong and includes 4 All State and SWC All Conference 1st Team winners in Anna Brown, Rachel Brown, Steph Ferrarie and Sam Palicz.  Additionally, the Bobcats return SWC standouts Ali Bowers and Katie Dixon who both received All Conference Honorable Mention.   

"Our senior class is deep, talented, and motivated more than ever...they’re a great group of athletes and have helped this program accomplish so much over the last 3 years, but I know they want to leave their own stamp on our program in their final year”, said Nigro.

Time will tell but the 2013 Bobcats, paired with hard work, determination and strong senior leadership, just may be poised for another SWC win ….and perhaps even more! 

The Bobcats sprung into action on Thursday, September 12 with their first win in an away meet against Stratford. Their season home opener is today against Bunnell at the Green Knoll Pool at the Regional YMCA of Western CT in Brookfield at 4pm - Go Bobcats !!