TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

5-Time Sibling Rivalry Hits In The Pool At Tampa Prep

ADVERTISEMENT

By KATHERINE SMITH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2008

TAMPA - Grace Fredlake and her younger sister, Hannah, compete at everything.

They compete to see who can eat more. They battle over who has more homework or who has more chores. There's even a contest to see who has the messiest room.

Actually, Hannah is winning that one by a landslide.

The swimming pool is the one area where Grace, a senior at Tampa Prep, has a definite advantage over Hannah, a Tampa Prep sixth-grader. Grace Fredlake is one of the top swimmers in the area, but if Hannah has her way, there will be enough room for two Fredlakes.

"Grace is what got me started in swimming, and she's always been my No. 1 inspiration," Hannah Fredlake said. "But I want to have my own identity."

Hannah Fredlake is not alone. She is one part of the five pairs of swimming siblings on Tampa Prep's boys and girls teams. As one of the team's captains, Grace Fredlake tries to treat her sister the same as she does the other teammates, but she admits that can be difficult at time.

"She's definitely pushing me to be a better teammate," Grace said.

Coach Jason Bowes commandeers this Brady Bunch-like group. In addition to the Fredlakes, there are Alex (eighth grade) and Zach (senior) Blustein, Robbie (eighth) and Katie (ninth) Carter, Rasmus (seventh) and Astrid (eighth) Skjaerpe and Gracie (eighth) and Luke (10th) Suddath.

Bowes once coached a set of twins that were viciously competitive. He doesn't have that problem at Tampa Prep.

"I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the team to have this many," Bowes said. "There's a lot of teasing going on, and I definitely get some inside information. There's a little bit of a sibling rivalry going on here.

"I think these kids here are great at not being overly competitive where they're not nasty with each other."

That's not to say there's not a lot of time comparisons going on and gentle ribbing and trash-talking.

"If I get angry at him, I can always bring up my times," said eighth-grader Alex Blustein.

Older brother Zach, Tampa Prep's other captain, doesn't deny his brother's speed in the pool.

"He's a fast little kid," Zach Blustein said. "He beats me in breaststroke, but I can still beat him in everything else."

Of course, there's the added benefits of having a sibling who puts in the same amount of time in the pool and knows the dedication involved in trying to be the best.

"We're all busting our butts in the pool for hours each day," Zach Blustein said. "So we just encourage other. It's a really great bond, and one of the best parts of my swimming experience."

COLLEGE CRUNCH TIME: Grace Fredlake, who finished second at state last year in the 200 individual medley, is trying to narrow down her college choices. She visited Notre Dame two weeks ago and Northwestern last weekend. She has several other Division I schools interested in her, and she plans to take trips to FSU, Duke and Indiana.

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 731-8025 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT