Swimmers, divers compete in state sectionals this weekend
BY STEVE SHEPPARD INDEPENDENT SPORTS EDITOR
It's off to MIT and the state tournament south sectionals for Whalers swimmers and divers this weekend, with the girls' competitions on Saturday and the boys' taking place Sunday.

The girls tuned up for the tournament with a satisfying win at home against Nauset last Wednesday, taking the meet 97 to 88. The Nauset boys, however, held off Nantucket, 94-76, and captured the Bay Colony Conference championship in the process.

"This meet was very close on both sides from beginning to end," coach Jim Pignato said, noting that it was the girls' ability to win the relays that made the difference. "What really sealed the deal was taking first place in the relays, unlike what we were able to do with the boys," he said. "They were two very similar meets."

Beau Garufibroke the record he'd set just four days before in the 200-yard freestyle, setting a new school record time of 1:54.72, fractions of a second better than the 1:54.81 time he turned in on Feb. 2. Still, Garufinarrowly edged Nauset's Andrew Bulger, who finished second with a time of 1:54.92.

On the girls' side, Ashley Martin turned in two personal best times in both the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle, taking first place in the 50 free with a time of 27.10 and finishing second to Ainsley Ellis's 56.64 with a time of 1:00.11 in the 100 free. Theresa Head's time of 2:13.54 in the 200-yard freestyle qualified her for this weekend's sectionals.

Both teams beat Taunton in an away meet Saturday, with the girls on the good end of a 51-41 score, and the boys coming out on top, 14-6. The girls finish the regular season with an overall record of 4-2, while the boys finish 5-2 overall.

For the girls, Head, Martin and Ellis will be joined by Carly Jensen and Haley Cabre at MIT this Saturday. Martin will take part in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle events; Head will compete in the 200 free and 100 free; Ellis will swim in the 100 free and 100 backstroke; Jensen and Cabre will compete in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Garufi, the only individual competitor swimming for the boys, will compete in the 200-yard freestyle event and the 100-yard breaststroke at MIT; Sam and Henry Toole, Will Martin and Jeremy Schneider will swim in three relay events: the 200-yard medley, the

200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle. I