Ocean boys have eyes set on state tournament berth

Girls’ team looks to get healthy with plenty of swimming left
Correspondent

CHRIS KELLY Ocean Township’s Ted Brown races to a first-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke during a recent meet against Manalapan at Monmouth University, West Long Branch.

The Ocean Township swimming teams are roughly a third of the way through their 2002-2003 seasons, and head coach William Lynch is hopeful that this year will be a success for both the boys and girls.

After a quality season that landed them in fifth place overall in the Shore Conference and only five points out of second place last year, the boys’ swimming team is poised for another impressive showing. They have won five of their first seven meets, with losses coming to two of the more dominant swimming programs in the Shore, Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft and Toms River North.

"We lost four very strong swimmers to graduation last spring," said Lynch, "but I think we have enough talent to do well, and the boys are really off to a great start."

Senior captain Ted Brown leads the way in the pool alongside juniors Joe Wilensky, Andrew Vasta, and Corey Mendillo, who Lynch called "one of the best sprinters in the Shore Conference."

"I think we have a legitimate shot at making the states this year," said Lynch. "We have the Monmouth County Tournament coming up on Jan. 10 and 11, and that is usually a good gauge of where you stand and where you need to be."

The girls’ team has had a less than perfect start, dropping four of its first five meets, including a two-point loss to Middletown South on Dec. 20.

Part of this disappointing start can be credited to the absence of senior captain Victoria Kaminel, who is out with a broken hand and has yet to compete in a meet this season.

"It hurts not having her in the lineup and we are really looking forward to her return," said Lynch. "We are a much better team with her than without her, and her presence is missed. Hopefully she’ll be back against Manasquan in a few weeks."

Junior Lauryn Stengel is just recovering from a broken collarbone that she sustained during the soccer season in a game against Red Bank Catholic in early November.

"She just came back earlier this month and she’s not quite 100 percent just yet," he said. "As she gets stronger, so will her swimming."

Junior Allison Weinkofsky is a key sprinter in the 50-meter and the 100-meter freestyle, and is coming off a 2001-2002 season in which she qualified for the individual state tournament.

Despite the rough start, Coach Lynch still feels the girls have a lot of fight left in them, and there is plenty of season left for them to turn things around.

"We’ve struggled at the start a bit, but we’ll be back," said Lynch.

Due to the vast amount of younger swimmers and the nine female swimmers he is gaining from intermediate schools next year, the coach is excited about the strength he has to look forward to in the future.

"Next year we’re going to be awesome," he said. "We have new talent coming in and many strong swimmers returning. Next year we’re really going to be the team to beat."

For now both of the Ocean swim teams are fully focused on the task at hand — the remainder of this season. The Spartans return to the pool on Jan. 7 when they take on Manasquan at the Atlantic Club.

From there, they face Freehold Township on Jan. 8, Neptune on Jan. 13 and Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch, on Jan. 15.