Tyla Martin Wins Three Golds, Breaks Record On Day One Of CISC Championships In Cuba

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 28, 2010

Tyla Martin of the South Florida Aquatic Club got off to a great start at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC) in Havana, Cuba.

On the opening day of the swimming competition, Martin, 12, representing Trindad and Tobago, won three gold medals and broke a meet record in her second major international meet.

Martin won the 11-12 50-meter butterfly in 30.20 seconds. In the morning prelims she broke the CISC record with a time of 30.17.

Martin, a student at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, also won the 200-meter individual medley in 2:32.20.

Martin won her final event of the evening in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:10.90.

Sharntelle McLean, who also trains at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex with six-time Olympic coach Michael Lohberg, won the 18-and-over 50-meter butterfly in 28.72.

SOFLO’s Keegan Boisson-Yates, 14, a student at Taravella, will also compete in the meet for Trinidad and Tobago. The meet continues through July 2.  The swimmers are competing in the same Olympic pool that hosted the 1991 Pan American Games.

After Day One, Trinidad and Tobago have won 15 medals including nine gold, five silver and one bronze. 

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

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SOFLO Wins CSSC Meet Combined Team Title,Cooke, Campo, Kopas High Point Winners

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 27, 2010

CORAL SPRINGS—The four-day Florida Gold Coast Coral Springs Invitational was the measuring stick coaches and swimmers were looking for in the midst of a full summer meet schedule.

South Florida Aquatic Club, competing for the first time as a full team, dominated the meet, won the combined team title with a record 1,506.50 points, and more importantly, was able to gauge its long course training progress.

Now SOFLO coaches and swimmers, looking ahead to the July 15-18 FGC Junior Olympics at Plantation Central Park and July 23-25 FGC Senior Championships at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex and July 27-31 Southern Zone Championships in Atlanta, will be able to go back and fine tune.

“The kids did a good job,” SOFLO national head coach Michael Lohberg said. “It seems a couple of our kids had a breakthrough. Our younger ones who moved up all had best times. Some of the people who swam at the Texas meet last week like Luke Torres all did very well.”

SOFLO had three high point award winners and three runners-up.

In the girls’ 10-and-under age group, Eden Cooke, 10, captured top honors with 57 points. Kelley Heron, 10, was second with 50 points. On the final day, Cooke won the 100-meter freestyle with back-to-back career-bests in prelims (1:10.40) and finals (1:08.78). She was also fourth in the 50 butterfly in 37.05, another best time.

Steph Campo, 12, who won all of seven of her events in career-best times, earned top honors in the 11-12 girls’ age group with 63 points, the most points earned in any age group.

On the final day, Campo won the 11-12 100-meter freestyle in 1:03.12 and 50-meter butterfly in 31.59, both career-bests. Kylie Herman, second in the 11-12 high point category with 34 points, was second in the 50 butterfly in a career-best 32.82. Allison Kopas, 11, was third in a career-best 33.27.

“I was happy with every single event, I dropped time and won every single one,” Campo said. “I aim high so I can shoot even higher. Hopefully, the next meet I can drop even more time. I am excited for the rest of summer training and to see what my little body can put me through and see what times I can do. I am exceeding my expectations.”

SOFLO newcomer Emily Kopas, 13, won high point honors in the girls’ 13-14 age group with 58 points.

Marco Hosfeld, 14, was second in the 13-14 age group high point category with 58 points, just three behind FGC record-breaker Quinn Cassidy of St. Andrew’s Swimming.

“We are swimming technically better,” Lohberg said. “We are looking at strokes, starts and other technical things but still with them swimming at a decent pace. I wasn’t looking at good strokes and slow times. We can do that in practice.

“Under a little bit more stress situation and good competition we expected certain things to happen that we worked on in practice,” Lohberg said. “It seems they are a little bit ahead on paper. But now in a couple weeks we need to show what we can do. This is where we have to drop even more time and have good swims. Some of them are reaching a level of performance that becomes more interesting. It makes a difference.”

Kelly Kealty, 12, had a breakthrough meet. On the fourth and final day, she finished second in the 11-12 50-meter breaststroke with back-to-back career-bests in prelims (40.38) and finals (38.74). Her previous best was 40.92.

Kealty also finished third in the 100-meter freestyle, also with back-to-back time drops in prelims (1:08.10) and finals (1:07.47). Her previous best was 1:13.33.

“I was looking for my best times because I haven’t swum these events since last year and I got what I wanted especially in breaststroke,” Kealty said. “It all came out good. I was happiest with my 50 breaststroke because I dropped the most.

“This was a big deal for me,” Kealty said. “This is my last 11-12 meet. I was working towards getting my 13 cuts and for JOs. This was to see where I am at. I am tired but really happy about what I accomplished.”

Kopas, the newest member of SOFLO, wrapped up an impressive meet after only one week of training with Lohberg.

Coming off her junior national cut performance in the 100 breaststroke on Saturday, Kopas, the top seed and fastest qualifier, won the 13-14 50-meter breaststroke. She posted back-to-back career-bests in prelims (34.99) and finals (34.87). Her previous best was 35.79. Jillian Alexander, 13, was third in the 50 breaststroke in a career-best 36.32.

Kopas was also third in the 200-meter backstroke in 2:35.36. She bettered her previous career-best of 2:33.52 in morning prelims in 2:32.03.

“I was going after that junior national cut,” Kopas said. “I felt really good in the water because Michael started fixing my stroke and I think that helped me along the way.

“I thought about how cool it would be to get this junior national cut the whole time during my race. I just wanted it so bad. That last 50 I was pushing as hard as I could to get to that wall. Right when I finished and saw that time it was like yes, I finally did this. It was the greatest feeling.”

Kopas, who has been swimming since age 4 and got her first sectional cut at age 12, has already fit in nicely with her coaches and teammates.

“I love SOFLO, I like the pool, I like the coaches and all my teammates are so nice, they were cheering for me the whole time and motivated me and I just learned their names,” Kopas said.

While making junior nationals is nice, Kopas has loftier goals.

“My goal this season is to make senior nationals and that is the goal I am focusing on most right now because that is a privilege to go to seniors and I would really like to be able to participate in that meet,” Kopas said.

High point runner-up Kelley Heron had a confidence-building meet while developing a nice rivalry with high point winner Eden Cooke. Both are 10-year-olds and bringing out the best in each other.

On Sunday, Heron won the 50-meter breaststroke in 41.75 and was fourth in the 100-meter freestyle in 1:10.77 bettering her previous best of 1:12.88 in prelims (1:11.21) and finals.

“I wanted to win and I expected to drop times a little bit, but I didn’t expect to drop that much time,” Heron said. “I wanted to see how my training was doing. I learned a lot in prelims and finals. I am tired but I feel good about what I swam.”

Maria Lopez, 14, was runner-up in the 13-14 200-meter butterfly in 2:34.37.

In the boys’ competition:

Marco Hosfeld, 14, won the 13-14 50-meter breaststroke in 35.88 and Joshua Cutter, 14, was second in a career-best 36.07. Hosfeld was also second in the 100-meter freestyle in a career-best 57.11.

Jorge Depassier, 10, was second in the 100-meter freestyle in a career-best 1:10.23. Alex Rodriguez, 19, was second in the 50-meter breaststroke, equaling his prelim time of 30.60. Dylan Sell, 13, was third in the 200 backstroke in a career-best 2:30.90. His previous best was 2:42.69.

Blake Kelley, 14, was second in the 200-meter butterfly in a career-best 2:25.45. He bettered his seed time of 2:42.51 in prelims with a 2:30.33 and dropped even more in finals.

“This was a “I want to do good meet” because it’s prelims and finals,” Kelley said. “I was happiest with my 200 free, I dropped six seconds total. I am extremely happy with this meet. Now I am working toward JOs which I want to do better than this.”

Lohberg said the meet served as a perfect dress rehearsal for next month’s bigger meets.

“The swimmers can deal better with the expectations and stress because they consider themselves good,” Lohberg said. “Nobody goes into these events anymore with ‘hopefully, I am going to swim fast.’ I hate the word hopefully. You do your job, you do what you can and you most likely will succeed.”

Team totals: 1. SOFLO 1,506.50, 2. St. Andrew’s Swimming 362, 3. Pine Crest Swimming 343.50, 4. Davie Nadadores 342, 5. Plantation Swim Team 271.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

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http://www.csscswim.com

Phelps Not Happy With Paris Meet

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 27, 2010

Michael Phelps is going back to the drawing board.

After competing at the two-day Paris Open that ended on Sunday, Phelps, 25, said he was “furious” with himself after a poor showing.

“Am I upset? Yes, very,” Phelps said.

The 14-time Olympic gold medalist competed in four events over two days after high-altitude training in Colorado Springs.

He won the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter individual medley but was only the third fastest in the 200-meter freestyle and sixth in the 100-meter freestyle.

On Sunday, he finished third in the 200 freestyle in 1:47.54 while Frenchman Yannick Agnel set a national record of 1:46.30. He won the 200 IM in 1:58.95.

“I am disappointed,” Phelps said. “But I know as well it’s my fault. I blame myself. You’ve got to be responsible for your own actions.

“I didn’t train exactly when I should have. We see the result this weekend. I hoped to be faster. There are a lot of things that could have been better.

“I’m not worried but angry and that acts as a motivator for me. Let’s hope this is a wakeup call. If it’s not, then I have to change a lot. In the 200 freestyle I started quite well but then everything went wrong. I had hoped my training would give me better results.”

Olympic and world champion Cesar Cielo of Brazil won the 50-meter freestyle in 21.55.

Phelps, preparing for nationals and Pan Pacific trials, will remain in France for a week to train in Vichy, where the U.S. team will have a training camp before the 2012 London Olympics.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

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Emily Kopas Makes Junior National Cut Time, SOFLO Continues To Dominate CSSC Invitational

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 26, 2010

CORAL SPRINGS—The South Florida Aquatic Club continued its domination on Day Three of the Florida Gold Coast Coral Springs Invitational Saturday night.

The electric atmosphere of the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex helped to spark the host team’s outstanding performances that included a junior national cut time, fifteen individual and relay victories and thirty-five career-best times.

SOFLO newcomer Emily Kopas, 13, seeded first in the 13-14 100-meter breaststroke in 1 minute and 15.32 seconds, not only won the event but qualified for the Aug. 9-13 Junior National Championships in Irvine, Calif. in a career-best time of 1:14.09.

Kopas turned it on in the final 40 meters to distance herself from the field and bring it home.

Kopas was a member of STAR Swimming’s 2010 Summer Speedo Championship team in Buffalo, N.Y. before her family relocated to South Florida. She is swimming unattached according to Florida Gold Coast team transfer rules.

Kopas was also second in the 200 IM in another career-best 2:26.82.

It was a SOFLO sweep in the 100 breaststroke with Jillian Alexander, 13, second in a career-best 1:21.41. Emma Lincoln, 14, was third in a career-best 1:23.78.

Lincoln also swam back-to-back personal bests in prelims (1:09.85) and finals (1:07.83) to finish second in the 100-meter butterfly. Her previous best was 1:10.49.

Maria Lopez, 14, was third in the 100 butterfly in 1:09.05. She bettered her previous best of 1:09.75 in prelims with a 1:08.67.

Heading into the fourth and final day, SOFLO has an insurmountable lead with 1,250 points. The Davie Nadadores’ unattached team is second with 313.5 and St. Andrew’s Swimming, led by the Florida Gold Coast record performance of Quinn Cassidy in the 100 breaststroke, is third with 270 points.

Cassidy, 14, swam 1:08.76, breaking SOFLO’s Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s 100 breaststroke record of 1:09.20 set in 2005. 

SOFLO national head coach Michael Lohberg has been pleasantly surprised at the team’s performance particularly the Texas Senior Circuit swimmers competing in back-to-back meets and fighting off fatigue to swim best times.

“The atmosphere at this pool is pretty appealing,” Lohberg said. “People like to come here, people like to race here.

“I am mostly surprised about the people who swam last week in Texas. They swam pretty well there and they come back and do it again. That is pretty remarkable. It seems to me they get more confident the more they race and drop times.”

SOFLO swept the top three spots in the girls’ 10-and-under 50-meter backstroke. Eden Cooke, 10, enjoying an outstanding meet, won the event in a career-best 37.02. Her previous best was 37.52.

“I was happy because I didn’t slip off the wall this time,” Cooke said. “I’m not sure why they’re slippery, I think they oil them to make us go faster. I am really happy with all my dropped times. I didn’t expect to do this good. This gives me a lot of confidence. There’s going to be some faster people in the next meet.”

Cooke also finished second in her 100-meter butterfly debut in 1:31.84 and led off the winning 200 freestyle relay with Kelley Heron, Catharine Cooper and Bianca Monti in a best time 2:11.11.

“I was happiest with the 100 fly today because I never swam it before and I am just glad I could do it,” Cooke said. “I wanted to swim it because I have been getting better at it.”

Catharine Cooper, 10, was second in the 50 backstroke in a career-best 41.41. She was seeded 29^th with a previous best of 49.89.

“When I started I slipped off the wall, it was an accident,” Cooper said. “I don’t know why, I just slipped. In the race I saw the girls ahead of me on my left and I tried kicking and doing my best.

“I have been training really hard,” said Cooper, a Ramblewood Elementary School fourth grader who has been swimming since she was 4 in Swim America. “I was pretty nervous about the meet but my dad always tells me to be confident and I just go with that.

“Every meet is actually my goal,” Cooper said. “I am training for JO’s. I love swimming. It’s my main sport.”

Bianca Monti, 10, was third in the 50 backstroke in a best time 42.01, bettering her previous best of 46.30.

Steph Campo, 12, added two more victories to her collection over the past three days. In front of a small fan club of family and friends, Campo won the 11-12 50-meter backstroke in back-to-back best times of 34.74 in prelims and 33.57 in finals. Her previous best was 35.07.

Danielle Ginzburg, 12, also swam back-to-back best times of 37.14 (prelims) and 36.46 (finals) to finish third. Her previous best was 38.01.

Campo also won the 200-meter individual medley and bettered her previous best time of 2:44.38 in prelims (2:42.38) and finals 2:36.01.

“For the 50 backstroke and 200 IM my legs were shaking because I was so tired from the whole weekend,” Campo said. “But once I got in the water it stopped and I just did it.

“I was really happy with my 200 IM,” Campo said. “I dropped two seconds in the morning which I thought was good. I thought I would drop another second tonight but I dropped 8, so that was a lot.

“I am so tired, my body is aching but I am very happy with the time drops. It means Michael is doing a good job with me. This helps me know what to do and what to work on so the next meet will be perfect.”

Marco Hosfeld, 14, had another good night for the boys’ team. For the second consecutive night he was a double winner capturing the 13-14 200-meter IM in a career best 2:21.12 and 400 freestyle in 4:21.96. He also led off the winning 200-meter freestyle relay of Dylan Sell, Blake Kelley and Joshua Cutter in a best time 1:52.52.

“I guess I was going after it (200 IM) but I wanted to go under 2:20,” Hosfeld said. “I set the goals high. I’ve been training hard and I’m not rested. I’m going fast because Michael’s a good coach.”

Other top performances for SOFLO were:

Florida Atlantic graduate Elle Weberg, 25, first in the 15-and-over 100-meter breaststroke in 1:11.89, bettering her previous best of 1:13.76.

Kelley Heron, 10, first in the 10-and-under 100 breaststroke in a career-best 1:31.76, bettering her previous best of 1:39.17. She was also second in the 200 IM in 2:53.74, bettering her best time of 3:04.66.

Courtney Marx, 18, was third in the 15-and-over 100-meter butterfly in 1:06.89, bettering her best time of 1:07.27.

Kylie Herman, 12, was third in the 11-12 100 butterfly in 1:16.85, bettering her previous best of 1:21.54.

Alex Rodriguez, 19, was second in the 15-and-over 100 breaststroke in 1:07.12 and Matthew Bellew was close behind in third place in 1:07.33.

The meet, that features more than 600 swimmers and 26 teams including Bermuda and Puerto Rico, concludes today with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 4:30 p.m.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.csscswim.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

Phelps Has Rollercoaster Opening Day in Paris

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 26, 2010

Michael Phelps rode an emotional rollercoaster on the opening day of the Paris Open.

The 14-time Olympic champion easily won the 200-meter butterfly before ending the opening day by finishing last in the 100-meter freestyle.

Phelps, who turns 25 at the end of the month, led from start to finish in the 200 butterfly to win in 1 minute and 55.70 seconds, fourth best in the world. He was the fastest qualifier in morning prelims in 1:57.88.

Frenchman Christophe Lebon edged fellow countryman Jordan Coelho to finish second in 1:59.01.

Thirty minutes later, Phelps got off to a slow start and finished last in the 100 freestyle. He was the seventh fastest qualifier after morning prelims in 49.44.

Swimming in Lane One next to world champion Cesar Cielo of Brazil, Phelps finished in 49.70 in finals. Freshman Fabien Gilot won in 48.65.

Olympic champion Alain Bernard of France failed to qualify for the 100 freestyle, finishing 18^th in the heats in 50.44.

“I was very tired,” Bernard said. “And when you are tired, there is nothing you can do. This is a result of my training for the European Championships [in August in Budapest, Hungary]. This meet was not a milestone in my preparations.”

Bernard swam in the same heat as Phelps.

“I think as a whole, for the day, it’s not terrible,” said Phelps, who was coming off high altitude training in Colorado Springs. “I’m more happy with my fly. I think there is still a lot of work to do.”

Phelps competes in the 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley on Sunday. He is using the meet as preparation for nationals in August which is a selection meet for the Pan Pacific Championships.

“I will try to recover as much as I can,” Phelps said. “It’s going to be a tough day.

“I am disappointed with the 100. It just shows where we stand right now. I know I should be a lot faster than that.”

American Mark Gangloff won the 50 breaststroke in 27.81.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

http://www.csscswim.com

SOFLO’s Girl Power Rule Day Two At FGC Coral Springs Invitational, SOFLO Leads With 747 Points

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

June 25, 2010

CORAL SPRINGS—Eden Cooke was all smiles around the pool deck Friday night at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

The bubbly 10-year-old led an impressive girls’ contingent of swims for the South Florida Aquatic Club at the Florida Gold Coast Coral Springs Invitational.

Cooke swam back-to-back personal best times in prelims (2:31.44) and finals (2:29.02) to win the 10-and-under 200-meter freestyle event to highlight the night’s action. Her previous best time was 2:32.40.

SOFLO teammate Kelley Heron, 10, was the top seed after morning prelims swimming a career-best 2:30.99 (2:38.46 previous best).

The two pushed each other in finals.

“It helps when you have someone pushing you, it helps you swim faster,” said Cooke, second fastest after morning prelims. “It helped me go faster and pace myself with her.

“I felt good in the water,” Cooke said. “I was excited at the beginning of the race and hoping I would win. I didn’t know if I was going to though. Kelley was really fast. I just knew either way it would be pretty good because she is on the same team as me.”

Heron finished second in 2:29.97, another career-best.

Cooke won two other events and led off SOFLO’s winning 200-meter medley relay team of Heron, Quinn Reeves, 10, and Catharine Cooper, 10, that won in 2:39.07.

Cooke won the 50-meter freestyle in 31.28, again lowering her previous career-best of 32.29 in prelims (32.11) and finals. Heron was second, also swimming back-to-back best times of 32.88 in prelims and 32.74 in finals.

“I set a goal of 31.33 and I got a 31.28 so I was happy,” Cooke said.

Cooke said she surprised herself winning the 100-meter backstroke, again with back-to-back best times in prelims (1:23.05) and finals (1:21.78). Her previous best was 1:24.72.

Heron was second in 1:23.59. Heron bettered her best time of 1:23.58 in prelims in 1:21.56.

“I set goal times for every event except the backstroke because I wasn’t sure how I would swim it,” Cooke said. “I knew that was my stroke so I tried hard.

“I definitely was tired and almost out of breath at the very end but I pushed myself,” Cooke said. “I am very happy. I feel like I am getting faster and my kick is better. I think it’s because I am training harder.

“This is a pretty big meet for me. I guess nationals was the most important meet for me so this would be the second most important.”

More smiles and more best times from Steph Campo, 12, and Linea Cutter, 16.

After winning the 400-meter freestyle on Thursday night, Campo continued her winning ways and time drops in the shorter events.

Campo won the 11-12 200-meter freestyle in a career-best 2:17.49, bettering both her seed time 2:20.56 and prelim time of 2:18.65.

Campo also won the 100-meter backstroke in back-to-back best times of 1:12.89 in prelims and 1:12.21 in finals. Her previous best was 1:14.89.

Campo also led off SOFLO’s winning 11-12 200-meter medley relay with Audrey Mason, 12, Kylie Herman, 12, and Carly Swanson, 12, in a best time 2:22.15.

“My 200 freestyle was really good, I dropped a lot of time from before,” Campo said. “This is just a practice meet. We are trying to see where we are. It helps show us what we need to work on in practice and hopefully get better. Hopefully, at zones, I will have some great races.

“I was happiest with my 100 back,” Campo said. “I didn’t think I would go 1:12 because I practice at a 1:16. I just gave it all that I had in the water. I like to race.”

Cutter, a home schooler who swims for Douglas, turned the corner in the 50-meter freestyle when she broke 28 seconds for the first time in the girls’ 15-and-over event.

Cutter was SOFLO’s top finisher in the event, placing third and more importantly dipping below 28 in 27.71. As soon as Cutter touched the wall, her age group coach Chris Jackson yelled out a cheer and Cutter broke into a wide grin.

Cutter bettered her previous best of 28.24 in prelims with a 28.12.

“I am happy that it’s finally broken,” Cutter said. “I was trying to break it last year but I wasn’t that close. This morning I got closer and so I was happy to break it tonight. Chris told me to just try to break 28 and I tried my hardest.”

Cutter was pushed by a fast field that included SOFLO teammate Tiffany Oliver and Davie Nadadores’ Isabella Arcila and Eunate Garro.

“I was just trying to race and trying my best,” Cutter said. “I’m not sure how many breaths I took. I was trying not to breathe.

“It’s nice to see this result because I have been training hard. I would like to get lower in 27 and do a 26 eventually. I think this is the highlight so far for me.”

British teenager Leonie Davies, 13, coming off the Texas Senior Circuit Meet and Fort Myers Festival Open Water championships, continued to push the envelope. Davies won the 13-14 200-meter freestyle in a season-best 2:17.23. She was also fifth in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:16.22

“I am a little tired but it’s just mental, you can do whatever you think you can,” Davies said. “If I come back tomorrow with the same mind I had today I think I can do good. I started feeling the Texas meet on Tuesday. Practice was really hard on Tuesday. I thought about not coming to this meet but why not? Even if I came and didn’t swim best times it would still be a good experience.

“My 200 was a season-best and it was a win so I contributed to my team,” Davies said. “It felt good.”

Emma Lincoln, 14, another one of SOFLO’s youngest swimmers coming off the Texas Circuit Meet, is using this weekend’s meet as a training gauge for zones in Atlanta.

Lincoln was pleasantly surprised with her swims. She was second in the 13-14 50-meter butterfly with back-to-back career-best swims in prelims (30.91) and finals (30.74). Her previous best was 36.31. She was the fastest qualifier in prelims.

Lincoln was also sixth in the 200-meter breaststroke in 3:07.52 and eighth in the 100-meter backstroke in 1:17.78.  She anchored SOFLO’s wining 13-14 200-meter medley relay team of Davies, Kayla Moodie and Maria Lopez in 2:16.37.

“I am happiest with my 400 IM (swum Thursday night) because I finally dropped and I don’t normally swim that,” Lincoln said. “I’m also pretty happy with my 50 fly because I finally got a time where I am supposed to be. My fly has been feeling pretty good lately. I haven’t swam it in two years.

“This meet is mainly for us to work on our starts and turns, pace and see what else we need to work on,” Lincoln said. “I am really tired but I am happy. Basically, if I am this tired and dropping my times I believe when I am tapered I am going to do a lot better than my times are now.”

SOFLO newcomer Emily Kopas, 13, is fitting in nicely after only a week of training. She won the 13-14 200-meter breaststroke in 2:40.20 after swimming 2:43.90 in prelims. Teammate Jillian Alexander, 13, was second in 2:54.07.

Highlighting SOFLO’s boys’ action was double winner Marco Hosfeld, 14, with back-to-back best times. He won the 13-14 200-meter breaststroke in 2:42.24, bettering his prelim time of 2:43.99. His previous best was 2:51.79.

Hosfeld also won the 200-meter freestyle in 2:03.47. In prelims he bettered his 2:03.76 seed time in 2:02.71. Hosfeld swam second leg on SOFLO’s winning 200 medley relay of Kyle Desrosiers, Blake Kelley and Dylan Sell in 2:11.49.

Other top boys’ finishers:

Alfredo Mesa Jr., 11, was second in the 11-12 200-meter freestyle in 2:23.29 and Raphael Mora, 12, was third in 2:23.66, both swimming best times.

In the 10-and-unders 200 freestyle, Ricardo Roche, 10, was second (2:32.46), Kevin Porto, 10, third (2:34.98) and Jorge Depassier, 10, fourth (2:35.38), all best times.

Zain Qali, 22, was third in the 15-and-over 50-meter butterfly in 26.17. Gustavo Valery, 12, was third in the 11-12 100-meter backstroke in 1:18.75, a career-best.

SOFLO coaches got to show off in the sprint events.

Olympians Biggi Lohberg, Swim America Director for the Coral Springs Swim Club, and Josh Laban, age group coach at Mullins Park, competed in 50-meter events.

Lohberg, 44, was the fifth fastest qualifier in the 50-meter butterfly in 30.25. She scratched from finals to rest for her remaining events.

Laban, 27, finished sixth in the 50-meter freestyle in 24.74 off his seed time of 23.12 but bettering his prelim time of 25.11.

The four-day meet, featuring more than 600 swimmers, continues Saturday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.csscswim.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

Michael Phelps Ready For France This Weekend

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

Let’s see what altitude training does for Michael Phelps.

The Olympic superstar will compete at the Paris Open this weekend after high-altitude training this past month at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Phelps decided to skip the Mare Nostrum Series and USA Swimming Grand Prix in California to train in high altitude.

The theory behind high altitude training is that if you can adjust your body to perform at competitive levels with less oxygen in your blood and muscles, then when you travel to sea level to compete you should have a higher level of endurance.

The “extra” oxygen will prevent the early build-up of lactic acid and keep the heart rate lower even though a swimmer is pushing himself harder than at altitude.

Phelps will not compete on any relays. He is entered in the 100- and 200-meter freestyles, 200-meter butterfly and 200-meter individual medley.

Frenchman Alain Bernard will compete against Phelps in the 100 freestyle on Saturday. Reigning world champion Cesar Cielo will also be in the 100 field.

OPEN WATER

USA Swimming, the sport’s national governing body, has named eight open water swimmers to the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships roster for the open water 10K that will be held Aug. 22 in Long Beach, Calif.

Olympian Chloe Sutton of Mission Viejo, Calif. and Pan American Games gold medalist Fran Crippen of Conshohocken, Pa. head the roster.

The remaining members of the U.S. women’s team are Emily Brunemann of Crescent Springs, Ky., Evan Fabian of Keene, N.H. and, Christine Jennings of Longmont, Colo.

The men’s team also includes Chip Peterson of Pine Knoll Shores, N.C., Andrew Gemmel of Wilmington, Del. and Alex Meyer of Ithaca, N.H.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.csscswim.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

SOFLO’s Campo, Goldman Go Distance On Opening Day of FGC Coral Springs Invitational

CORAL SPRINGS—Less than a week after competing in the Texas Senior Circuit Meet at Texas A&M, Brandon Goldman wasn’t as tired as he thought he would be.

Especially after making his 1500-meter freestyle debut on the opening night of the Florida Gold Coast Coral Springs Swim Club Invitational at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

“I thought I was going to be more tired but I felt good in the water,” Goldman said. “I’m just a little fatigued.”

Goldman, 15, one of the youngest in the field, finished third in 17 minutes and 49.13 seconds. Ricardo Monasterio, 31, of Davie Nadadores won in a career-best 16:09.38.

“It didn’t really hurt,” Goldman said. “I am kind of disappointed with that swim. It was all right for the first time. I just thought I was going to go a lot faster.”

Goldman was able to maintain consistent splits throughout the mile.

“I was happy my splits weren’t all over the place,” said Goldman, coming off an outstanding meet in College Station, Tex. “I was consistent. I just wish I was consistently faster.

“The one thing I was happy with was that I wasn’t tired and I know I can go a lot faster,” Goldman said. “Michael (Lohberg) thinks that I will be good at the longer distances. He wants me to swim the 800. This was just good practice.”

Campo, 12, swimming in only her fourth 400-meter freestyle race, won the 11-12 age group race in a career-best 4:49.86.  Her previous best time was 4:52.09.

SOFLO teammate Carly Swanson, 12, finished second and also swam an impressive career-best 4:58.38. Her previous best was 5:03.66.

Campo was one of two SOFLO’s individual champions on opening day.

“I was happy with my swim,” Campo said. “For me it’s easy to sprint long distances. I think Coach thinks I can be a better distance swimmer.”

Campo picked up her tempo midway through the race.

“I felt a little stiff at the beginning and then I got used to the water and started going real fast,” Campo said. “On the first 100 I just wanted to keep up with everyone. At the second 100 I started progressing forward and getting ahead and the last 200 I just gave it my all.

“I like the endurance races, I have the stamina,” said Campo, who is competing in six events over four days. “I am not that tired or out of breath at all.”

Also in the girls’ 11-12 400 freestyle: Jessica Rodriguez, 11, fifth, 5:03.87, best time; Kylie Herman, 12, sixth, 5:07.41, best time; Alani Carrasco, 11, 12^th, 5:28.22, best time; Monica Rodriguez, 12, 13^th, 5:28.46; Emily Neville, 12, 21^st, 5:47.84, best time.

SOFLO head age group coach Bruno Darzi was pleased with Goldman and Campo’s swims. Goldman has been training for longer events and the opportunity presented itself at this week’s meet, Darzi said, for him to swim the 1500. He also said Campo trains “extremely hard” and the 400 suits her.

Even though swimmers are not rested for the meet, Darzi still expects them to race well. He called the meet a “stepping stone” for future meets this summer.

“I would like them to try and go fastest in each one of their events,” Darzi said. “If you don’t want them to race you might as well pull them out. There’s no point in swimming a race if you’re not going to go.

“At this part of the season they need more racing experience,” Darzi said. “We are doing some fast stuff in practice but it’s not the same thing as going to a swim meet and racing other swimmers. The more experience they get the better they will become. This meet is great for them because they get to swim prelims and finals.”

Most of the swimmers are training for various future meets including sectionals, seniors, JOs, junior and senior nationals.

“This meet is a stepping stone to another meet that the kids are training for depending on the age group,” Darzi said.

In other races:

Emily Kopas, 13, one of the newest members of SOFLO and swimming unattached (mandatory Florida Gold Coast LSC transfer rule), knocked off Megan Moroney, 13, of St. Andrew’s Swimming in the 13-14 400-meter individual medley. She won in 5:21.45. Moroney finished second in 5:22.88.

SOFLO’s Emma Lincoln, 14, finished third in the 400 IM in a career-best 5:31.78 (her previous best was 5:40.93). SOFLO’s Kristina Brennan, 14, also swam a best time to finish sixth in 5:40.98. Her previous best was 5:53.06.

In the boys’ 11-12 400-meter freestyle, Alfredo Mesa Jr., 11, was second in a career-best 4:56.02 (5:06.65 previous best) and Raphael Mora, 12, was third in a best time 4:57.23 (5:13.15 previous best). Other results: Juan Lucas, sixth, best time 5:17.23; Gustavo Valery, 12, seventh, 5:17.91; Alexander Viloria, 12, eighth, 5:19.13, best time; Stefano Dioguardi, 12, 11^th, 5:29.04; Santiago Arango, 12, 17^th, 5:44.91; Ryan Capote, 12, 18^th, 5:47.87.

In the boys 13-14 1500-meter freestyle, Blake Kelley, 14, was second in a career-best 18:30.04. His previous best was 18:38.37. Roger Capote, 14, was fifth in a career-best 19:42.63. His previous best was 20:01.87.

Leonie Davies, 13, coming off her national debut in Texas, was second in the girls’ 13-14 800-meter freestyle in a career-best 9:58.98. Her previous best was 10:13.99. Gabriella Fawaz, 14, was sixth in 10:56.39, another career-best. Her previous best time was 11:00.69.

In the girls’ 15-and-over 800-meter freestyle, Katie Brennan, 16, was fifth in a career-best 9:48.94 (previous best 10:00.23). Brittany Williford, 17, was ninth in 10:17.78.

Tomas Klosterman, 14, was fourth in the boys 13-14 400-meter individual medley in a career-best 5:39.43. His previous best was 6:07.79.

In the boys 15-and-over 400-meter IM, Ryan O’Shaughnessy, 19, was seventh in 4:50.20; Marc Rojas, 16, tenth, 4:56.28; Loai Tashkandi, 19, 11^th, 5:00.13.

Courtney Marx, 18, was fourth in the girls’ 15-and-over 400-meter IM in 5:30.25. Kristina Nork, 15, was sixth in 5:48.45.

The four-day meet, featuring more than 600 swimmers, continues today with a full schedule of events with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m. The public is welcome.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

http://www.csscswim.com

SOFLO Swimmers Compete This Weekend From Coral Springs to Havana, Cuba

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

South Florida Aquatic Club swimmers will compete in local and international meets over the next nine days.

As the opening weekend of local invitational summer swim meets for SOFLO kicks off at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, swimmers will start to focus on long course racing.

Several swimmers will compete in near-opposite worlds in the swim community, preparing for upcoming major swim meets and competing on an international level.

Tyla Martin, 12, and Keegan Boisson-Yates, 14, will represent Trinidad and Tobago at the June 26-July 2 Caribbean Island Swimming Championships (CISC) in Havana, Cuba.

The swimmers will compete in the same Olympic pool that hosted the 1991 Pan American Games.

Both SOFLO swimmers competed at CARIFTA where Martin dominated her age group and earned high point award honors. Both are entered in several individual events and relays.

Closer to home, the Coral Springs Swim Club Invitational will be hosted at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex Thursday through Sunday.

Summer swim meets are about team, fun and learning strategy to race long course and improving times.

Many will go into the meet knowing they may not swim best times just yet and will learn how to face that fact and figure out what they want to swim in the way of times and stroke improvement.

Swimmers will prepare for how hot it’s going to be, how crowded the pool deck and warm-up lanes will be and how much of a long meet it will be.

The meet features a variety of SOFLO swimmers from 10-year-old Eden Cooke and 12-year-olds Steph Campo and Carly Swanson to Florida State-bound swimmers Tiffany Oliver, 17, and Tyler Sell and two-time Olympian Josh Laban of the Virgin Islands and currently age group coach at Mullins Park.

The meet begins Thursday with the distance events and 400 individual medleys with timed finals only. The full schedule will kick in on Friday with prelims at 8:30 a.m. and finals at 5 p.m.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.csscswim.com

http://www.swim4comets.com

SANTA CLARA GOOD GAUGE FOR U.S., FOREIGN SWIMMERS, PLENTY OF NEW FACES ON SCENE

WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB

The 2010 Santa Clara International Grand Prix came to an end Sunday night with not only familiar faces but a few new faces who left a lasting impression at the George Haines International Swim Center.

There was 14-year-old Aussie Yolane Kukla who topped an impressive 50-meter freestyle field that included Lara Jackson, Christine Magnuson, Julia Smit and Marieke Guehrer to win the event in 25.13 seconds.

Did we mention she is only 14? It was her U.S. meet debut and only second international meet.

Olympian Nathan Adrian made his presence known. The 21-year-old won both the 50- and 100-meter freestyle events. In Sunday’s 100 freestyle, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist 4×100 relay member won by more than a half second to win the 100 in 48.83.

Julia Smit, another 2008 Olympian, won the 200-meter individual medley in 2:12.82.

“London is the big goal for everyone and there are other goals along the way,” said Smit, a senior at Stanford and NCAA champion.

David Plummer edged Matt Grevers and Ryan Lochte to win the 100-meter backstroke in 55.25. Lochte of Daytona Beach was third in 55.44.

Lochte, competing in only his third meet since knee surgery and long layoff, won the meet’s men’s high point award. The six-time Olympic medalist’s knee is still not strong enough to swim the breaststroke and individual medleys but is proving he will again be a force at the 2012 Olympic trials.

Elizabeth Beisel, who competed in six finals, won the women’s high point award. She won two events (400 IM and 200 backstroke) and placed third in the 100 backstroke.

Dagny Knutson held on in a close race to win the 200-meter butterfly in 2:11.33,  just ahead of Jasmine Tosky in 2:11.41.

Brazil’s Henrique Barbosa won the men’s 200-meter breaststroke in 2:15.88. Canadian Scott Dickens was second in 2:16.65 and Adam Klein was third in 2:16.69.

In other races, Canadian Alexa Komarnycky won the 800-meter freestyle in 8:38.31; Aussie Robert Hurley won the 1500-meter freestyle in 15:36.07; Brian Johns of Canada won the 200-meter individual medley in 2:02.06; and Beisel won the 200-meter backstroke in 2:10.80.

The 2009-2010 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series ends July 8-11 with the Los Angeles Grand Prix. SOFLO’s Caroline Kuczynski, 19, was invited by her Arizona State teammates to compete in the four-day meet.

The Grand Prix events are helping swimmers prepare for the Aug. 3-7 ConocoPhillips National Championships and Aug. 18-22 Pan Pacific Championships, both set for Irvine, Calif.

Sharon Robb can be reached at sha11cats@aol.com

http://www.csscswim.com

http://www.swim4comets.com