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Tigers, Buccaneers Maintain Hold In District Swimming

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By MATTHEW POSTINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

TAMPA - Jesuit's boys won their ninth straight district championships, while Berkeley Prep's girls won their fifth straight at the Class 1A-District 7 swimming championships at Berkeley Prep on Tuesday night.
Jesuit took the title with 464.5 points, led by sprinter Andrew Werdine, who won the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. Werdine also contributed to the team's 400 freestyle relay victory.
Jesuit coach Bill Shaffer said this year's title was a bit more satisfying, as he had to juggle his lineups to maximize his team's potential for points.

'I was missing John Carter out with an illness, so I had to find a breaststroker, and a 50 and 100 freestyler as fast as him in relays,' Shaffer said.
Shaffer stacked his medley relay, which finished second, and then received a surprising third-place finish in the 200 free relay, considering he saved his two best swimmers, Werdine and Vinny Donnelly, for the 400 free relay.

John Ervin, Luiz Lima, Dylan Attal and John Simon gave Jesuit that third-place finish.

'We took some calculated risks,' Shaffer said.

Werdine won the 50 with a time of 23.14 and the 100 with a time of 51.18. He was the only Jesuit swimmer to win two individual events, and he admitted he didn't swim his best time in the 50.

'I knew it would be close, but not that close,' Werdine said of the margin of victory. 'I didn't have a good start.'

Another senior, Berkeley Prep's Jonathan Jordan, dominated his events, the 200 and 500 free for the third straight year, winning each going away. Tampa Prep's Matt Stumpf claimed the title in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:03.02.

Berkeley Prep knew entering the meet that Academy of Holy Names would be a stiff contender for the girls' title. The two teams squared off last week and Berkeley Prep won by 30 points, said sophomore Laura Jordan, who won the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke.

So when Berkeley Prep won the meet's opening race, the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:55.41 - a school record - Jordan figured they were in for a good day. Berkeley Prep scored 453 points to Holy Names' 411.

'It got our whole team pumped up,' Jordan said.
Holy Names kept it close with the help of Molly Sheridan, who won the 50 and 100 frees, along with anchoring Holy Names' 200 freestyle relay victory. She appeared to be gearing up for a big postseason.

'I'm about fourth-tenths of a second off my best in the 50 and about one-tenth off my best in the 100,' Sheridan said. 'I'm mainly getting ready for regionals.'

When it became clear Berkeley would win the team title, about 10 swimmers grabbed Coach Kevin Rosepapa and dragged him into the pool for a celebratory dip.

'They weren't taking no for an answer,' Rosepapa said. 'Five in a row is pretty nice.'

CLASS 1A-DISTRICT 3: Tuesday proved to be a good day for upstart programs at The Villages, as Wiregrass Ranch and Bishop McLaughlin both had strong performances.

The Wiregrass Ranch girls took second place despite competing without any divers, unlike first-place Crystal River.

The Bulls' girls 200 medley relay and 200 free relay both won district titles. Freshman Rebecca Pindral won an individual title in the 100 breast and took second in the 200 individual medley.

Wiregrass Ranch's six boys placed 10th in the district.

'I was really impressed about both teams,' Bulls coach Nicole Bracciale said. 'They really worked together and cheered for each other and personally it was one of our best days.'

Bishop McLaughlin's Caitlen Smaga, who was the Hurricane's first and only swimmer until midway through the season, placed second in the 100 fly (1:03.94) and second in 200 free (2:03.31) to advance to next week's region meet in Fort Myers.

Cristina Ledra

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