Nardin tradition worth a tip of the cap ; Club swimmers help Gators dominate MMA
The Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY) September 30, 2008 | Mary Jo Monnin Swimming for Nardin also means keeping up appearances.
For Gators coach Brad Boyle that meant changes had to come from the top.
After taking over as coach he banned all club swim caps in meets and in practice insisting instead the girls wear the school’s dark green caps with Nardin in white letters. The variety of club caps was spawned by Nardin having some of the top club swimmers in Western New York.
“In order for everyone to unite as one team, not as STAR, not as the Titans, not as UBAM, but as Nardin — it was so we all could swim as one,” said Nardin senior Anna Plunkett, a STAR swimmer since she was 7. swimcapsnow.com swim caps
“When you’re on STAR, you’re racing against the Titans, and you’re not going to hold back just because those girls are on your varsity team in the fall. It’s pretty much which cap you’re wearing. It doesn’t matter who the competition is, you want to beat the person next to you.” Regardless of their headcover, Nardin swimmers are easy to distinguish. They are by far the fastest swimmers in any pool. Junior Lauren Marchese has qualified for the Nov. 21-22 Federation meet in the 100 freestyle. The girls have broken two Monsignor Martin Association records so far this year. Marchese, Leia Federicono, Alli Gielowski and Kelli Graber set the standard in the 200 medley relay in 1:56.13. Plunkett broke the league mark in the 100 butterfly, touching in 1:01.13.
The club swim caps are no longer making waves, but that doesn’t mean Boyle doesn’t recognize the contribution club swimmers make to his team. “I’d love to take the credit, but I’ll be the first to admit that the club coaches do a great job preparing the kids for the season,” he said.
Boyle is in his second stint as Nardin’s coach. He left in 1999- 2000 and moved to Florida. He returned to Buffalo in April to become the Natatorium Manager of the Erie Community College Flickinger Center. He was also thrilled to learn his old Nardin coaching job was available.
He found the Nardin team just the way he left them eight years earlier — on a league winning streak. The team had won 19 in a row when he left. When he returned the streak was at 93 straight the Monsignor Martin Association. The Gators’ last loss was to Buffalo Seminary in the second meet of the 1998-1999 season. They’ve also won the All-Catholic meet every year since 2000.
Nardin dominates Monsignor Martin opposition and often puts slower swimmers in the last couple races to keep the scores respectable. While the streak is a source or pride, what they really desire is a meet that’s decided in the last couple events.
“We don’t have anything like that,” said Plunkett. “The fact we can’t swim against the public schools is kind of like a barrier for us to go faster. If we had the extra edge of competition, we could swim even faster. I know we could.” Hoping to draw some of the top public schools, Nardin hosted the inaugural WNY Swimming Classic on Sept. 13 at ECC. It drew a 12- team field, nine Section VI teams and three from Monsignor Martin. Nardin ran away with the team title scoring 232.5 points while the next closest was Jamestown with 61. While it was a decent test, Nardin is looking for the AP exam. in our site swim caps
Boyle said public school coaches have paid him lip service about swimming them. When the time comes to commit to a date, their schedules are full. “There’s always talk that it’s going to happen, but it never comes to fruition,” said Boyle. “The tough schools don’t want to swim us. The girls I have swim with these kids on their club teams all the time.” Boyle said the argument that Nardin can draw from all over the area doesn’t hold water anymore. He said Charter Schools such as Buffalo Science and CSAT have the same luxury yet they’ve been allowed into Section VI.
“We’re not asking to be a part of any league. If you want to know who the best swimmers are in Western New York, you got to get the best kids in the pool,” said Boyle.
Mary Jo Monnin
