The 2009 scholastic swim season is under way for several area teams as they look to make a splash this spring. At La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School, the Lady Torreys under head coach Nate Heppner graduated three CIF qualifiers in 2008 (Chelsea Burns, Norae Shakur, Mel Kaplan) and as such, their 2009 campaign rests on the shoulders of a very young squad. Freshmen Allison Rhodes (I.M., free), Alexandra Rhodes (fly, free) and Alexandra Levine (I.M., backstroke) will look to fill the shoes of last year’s seniors. Returning sophomore relay standout Alexandra Trifunovic (I.M., free, breaststroke) is strong in a number of events, and senior Kelly Janus (sprint free, fly) should have a strong season as well. Additional depth comes from freshman Savannah Dowling (fly) and sophomore Gabi Shevel (free). “Despite our young team, I do expect the Country Day girls to finish somewhere in the top half of the Eastern League standings,” Heppner remarked. On the boys side, Heppner expects a stronger team from a season ago. “We lost only one senior (Ryan Frace) to graduation, and several newcomers will provide much needed depth,” Heppner noted. The 2009 squad is led by two seniors, Henry Clausner (sprint free, breaststroke) and Jihoon Yoon (I.M. breaststroke). Supporting them will be sophomores Donald Dean (free, fly) and Liam Devine (free, back). A solid group of freshmen includes Adrian Kaku (free, back), Jonathan Lin (free), Ben Beatty (back, breast) and Guillem Arlandez (free). “Like our girls, I hope to see our boys squad finish in the top half of the Eastern League standings,” Heppner added. LJCD kicked off its season recently with a strong effort against Christian High School. LJCD’s girls lost a close contest 85-84, while the boys were convincing winners, 95-78. At La Jolla High School, head coach Tom Atwell and the Vikings have had a couple of meets to date. In action last week with The Bishop’s School, the La Jolla boys won their match by a 102-68 score, while the La Jolla girls fell 87-83. The boys are unbeaten heading into this week, while the girls have scored wins over Fountain Valley and Patrick Henry. “We are off to an excellent start,” Atwell commented. “Both the boys and the girls teams look very strong, and once we get everybody in race shape we will be in a great position to make a run at the league championship, City Conference and CIF.” Some swimmers to watch this season include senior Tyler Woods, who will be swimming for Johns Hopkins next year. Woods swims the 50 free, 100 free and the two free-style relays. Grace Benefield, who swims the distance events in the 200 and 500, will most likely be swimming for UC Davis next year. The varsity squad is also looking to contributions from Eric Hedlin in the 200 and 500, as well as Allie Knight in the 100 back and 100 fly. The dive team is also ready to begin its competition. Under the leadership of coach Megan Looney, the diving squad has returning divers in Eric Lee, Haley Cottrell and Kimball Wing. — Editor’s note: Information on The Bishop’s School was not available prior to press time.
