Tsunamis Deliver High Tide At Ashland
By Contributor Ron Spink
Lead photo: Tsunami Alyssa Sagle powers off the deck on the way to first place in the Girls 9-10 50M Free.
In a battle between two undefeated teams, the Piedmont Tsunamis were able to keep their perfect drive intact on Saturday by beating the Ashland Stingrays with a score of 2832 v 2432. On the road for the second straight week, the win brings Piedmont to 4-0 overall for the summer. Tsunami swimmers battled hard to score their 10th consecutive victory – a streak that dates back to last year’s undefeated season, and continues their longest win tally as a member of the PWSL Blue Division.
Piedmont charged out of the gates in early action, taking eight of the opening eleven relays for their own – with five of those relays commanding the fastest times in the league as a whole. Individual swims were much improved week-over-week for the Tsunamis, as they brought in 42% of their races at personal bests over seed times. In total, the Piedmont athletes would garner 67% of all first place marks on their way to the combined events. As the free relays concluded, the Tsunamis closed upon six of eight final swims and added another three league high performances to their team accomplishments for the day.
Strong relay work fueled the bulk of the Tsunami momentum on their journey to the 400 point win. Piedmont swimmers participating in relays that delivered a season high of eight top PWSL times for the week included: Boris Coleman (2), Johnathan DeVito (2), Sophia Malinowski, Declan Bengtson (2), Alyssa Sagle (2), Sedonah Traister (2), Kaylee Dominguez (2), Abigail Hubert (2), Camille Spink (2), Emma Hannam (2), McKenna Curry (2), Hayley Hubert (2), Sebastian Borden (2), Eric Liao (2), Luke DeVore (2), Henry Radzikowski (2), and Brooks Schires.
Relay of the Day: The most exciting of the team matches were found in the Girls 8&U 50 Free race. Here, the efforts of Audrey Seidl, Ella Michel, Madelyn Jenkins and Sophia Malinowski overcame their tight-margined second place seed time and pulled off a thrilling victory at the touch – edging out their Ashland counterparts by .79 seconds for an improved mark of 1:27.06.
On the individual swim front, two team records would fall for the Piedmont Tsunamis. Camille Spink dropped a quarter second off her own PWSL mark from two weeks prior, to set the new league and team bar at 26.62 for the Girls 13-14 Free event. A few races later, in the Girls 13-14 IM, Spink would break her own club record again – shaving the new time down to 1:06.09.
Blue ribbon efforts and top overall league times (in parenthesis below) were plentiful for Piedmont, and included: Declan Bengtson, Sophia Malinowski (1), Alyssa Sagle (1), Alex Diatchenko, Charlotte Hannam, Davin Phe, Camille Spink (3), Sebbie Borden (1), Katherine Diatchenko, Sedonah Traister, Alex Crown, Jonathan DeVito, Christopher DeVito, Katherine Crown, Alex Huang, Emma Hannam (1), Brooks Schires, and Christian Mulroe.
Only two undefeated teams remain standing in the league – and, after next week, there will be only one. On Saturday, the Piedmont Tsunamis bring the Tent City caravan back home to host their division rivals, the Sudley Seahorses, in what is certain to be a tightly contested match between undefeated clubs. Both squads will be fighting for their fifth wins, and important momentum, as the back stretch of the summer ignites on the way to the Blue Division PWSL championships.