SPORTS: Paly girls shatter records in CCS swim finals Sports, posted by Editor, Palo Alto Online, on May 18, 2008 at 12:26 pm
While the Palo Alto girls' team fell short of its goal of winning a title at the Central Coast Section swimming and diving championships, the Vikings still produced arguably their best meet in school history, in terms of records and times on Saturday at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. Paly's Liv Jensen and Colleen Fotsch capped their sensational senior seasons by re-writing the section record book. Full story
Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, May 19, 2008, 8:32 AM
Posted by MV backer, a resident of another community, on May 18, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Even if the Mitty girls relay had NOT DQ'ed, Monta Vista would still have scored more points than Paly, who would have finished third in any case. The comment in the article that "the Matadors took advantage of a disqualification by defending champ Mitty in the 200 free relay to win the title with 233 1/2 points" does a disservice to the breadth and depth of the MV girls team. BTW, none of the MV CCS swimmers are graduating seniors, so look for them again next year.
Posted by CCS Swimmer, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on May 18, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I think that the article is attempting to point out the fact that had Mitty not DQed they would have had an extra 30 points (based on their seed from prelims), and that would have changed the order of the top 2 placing teams. As it is, Mitty scored 218 points, so including the relay they would have finished with about 248 points, which would have outscored MV's 233 1/2 points. While I know that the Monta Vista team is both young and talented, it is important to note the disqualification because it had a major impact on the final team standings.
Posted by MV Backer, a resident of another community, on May 18, 2008 at 7:04 pm
You are absolutely right about the scoring; if the Mitty relay had not DQed, they would have had enough points to win the CCS. My point was more about the "sour grapes" tone -- I would be willing to bet that if Paly had been the team with 233.5 instead of Monta Vista, the writer would NOT have said "Paly took advantage of a disqualification to win" and instead would have focused even more on the amazing accomplishments of Liv and Colleen and Michela. (And they really WERE amazing. I feel privileged to have watched them swim against Monta Vista the last few years, and I will root for them during the Olympic trials.)
Posted by Bob Wenzlau, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on May 18, 2008 at 10:01 pm Bob Wenzlau is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online
Some of the earlier squabble distracts from an absolutely stunning contest.
CCS this year was the best of the best. I will remember Liv's speed, Colleen's underwater work, the three Henshaw brothers swimming out the 500, Casey's long haul in her 500 to a CCS win, and Nick and Matt's hug after both breaking 50 seconds in the 100 back. These individual achievements elevated this years CCS swimming. There was more and there will be more in the future (like Maddy as a freshman breaking 23 seconds in the 50 free - wow).
Posted by Keith, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on May 20, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I believe it's mentioned in the story that Colleen is going to Notre Dame. As for the reference to Mitty being disqualified, there were no sour grapes involved. It was mentioned just to point out how close the meet was. Relay DQs are always important, especially in a close meet and when it involves one of the top teams. Bottom line, it was a great meet with plenty of great swimmers. It was exciting to see all the records broken. I've seen most of the CCS meets, including 1980 when Chris Cavanaugh led Lynbrook to those sensational times, and this one was one of the best.
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