Everybody in the pool
Swim team readies for new season
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS ESDITOR

The Nantucket Whalers dove into their first pracice of the season Monday. The Independent file

Practices began Monday for Whalers swimming and diving, and coach Jim Pignato looks to the experience of his

upperclassmen to lead both the girls and boys teams this year.

"We have 12 girls returning; we didn't lose anyone to graduation," he said. Co-captains Ainsley Ellis and Ashley Martin lead a solid core, bolstered by the return of Briana Vittorini, who had attended school off-island before coming back last year. "Briana is primarily a butterflyer, but she can pretty much do anything," Pignato happily noted. "Her addition will be very good for the team."

Pignato also counts on Ellis, who finished seventh overall in the 100-yard freestyle in last year's state finals, to continue to lead by her strong example.

Junior Haley Cabre, who competed in last year's state meets in freestyle and butterfly, also returns to the squad. Pignato will also depend on "a nice strong group of freshman girls who have all been with me on the Dolphins swim team. Their background in swimming is pretty solid; I expect good things from the freshman class this year."

Pignato said the boys' team also looks to be strong this year, anchored by senior captains Will Martin and Jeremy Schneider. He expects junior Beau Garufi, who has been an integral part of the team's success for two years, to have another strong year as well. "Each year he continues to improve," the fifth year coach said. "During the offseason he began focusing on all four strokes, while he had competed primarily in breaststroke before. He did well in the state meets last year in the breaststroke and he competed in the Bay State games this summer. He's been in the pool pretty much all year, which is good; most of the elite swimmers in the state are in the pool year-round."

The boys' team lost six starters to graduation, including captain Harrison O'Rourke, Hunter Burnham, Caleb Mitchell, "a very athletic group," Pignato noted. While the numbers may be down this year, he knows the squad will be ready to build on last year's accomplishments. "We're not as big as we used to be," he said. "So far, there are no freshman boys coming out, but hopefully that will change soon."

Both teams have nearly two weeks to prepare for its first meet, the traditional league relay carnival

on Dec. 8. I