SD Prep Sports

SD Prep Sports: Swimming

Eastlake Titans swimming upstream

By Phillip Brents
Posted April 15, 2004

Bryan Monzon is entering his second season as head coach of the Eastlake High swim team. His goals remain the same: 100 percent best times.

“They’re just about there already,” he said during a midseason dual meet against Marian Catholic.
Besides individual goals, team prospects also look good this season, Monzon said.

The Titan girls squad placed third in last year’s conference meet team standings behind champion Bonita Vista and runner-up Mar Vista. Eastlake was fourth in the boys team standings behind champion Bonita Vista, runner-up Mar Vista and third-place Hilltop.

“We want to move up another place at the Metro finals,” Monzon said.

Eastlake’s Dani Kimmel was the Metro Conference Girls Swimmer of the Year in 2003 as a freshman. She won both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke events before going on to place second in the breaststroke at the San Diego Section Division I championship meet with a time of more than one second under the consideration All-American standard.

However, Kimmel will have a lot of ground ... er, water, to make up after breaking two fingers recently. Monzon said she should be ready for a return to competition before the end of the season.

In the meantime, the Titan girls team has received standout swims from sophomore Andrea Williamson in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and freshman Taylor Erickson in the 200 and 500 freestyle distances.
Williamson placed third in the breaststroke and fourth in the 200 IM at last year’s conference finals.

“We’ll have a couple good relays if Dani gets back,” Monzon said.

Also back are divers Samantha Womer and Ashley Perez. Womer won the conference title as a sophomore but finished fourth last year behind Perez (third place).

Womer is back for her senior year with a positive attitude, though she said she is not placing any undue pressure on herself.

“I just to have fun and not stress about anything because it’s my last year. If I win, I win. If I lose, at least I still had fun,” she said.

While Kimmel helped steal the team’s spotlight last season, another freshman — Marc Uy — could be in line to earn similar honors this season. A top age-group swimmer with South Bay Aquatics, Uy tested the waters during the fall boys water polo season but appears to be in more of his element with the spring swim season. His specialty events are the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. Through midseason, he was undefeated in both.

Monzon said Uy could find himself in the CIF finals before the season is finished.

The boys team, in general, looks to have depth as its strong point. Top returners include sophomores Tom Dziadkowiec (200 freestyle, 100 butterfly) and Sam Gottlieb (50 and 100 freestyle) and junior James Hiney (200 and 500 freestyle).

Dziadkowiec finished third in both the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly at last year’s Metro finals. Hiney was sixth in last year’s 500 free finals while Gottlieb was seventh in the 100 breaststroke. Richard Higginbotham, another returner, was eighth in the 100 backstroke.

Impact newcomers, besides Uy, include freshmen Jeff Demoss (200 free-style, 100 backstroke), Gavin Fluhart (50 and 100 freestyle) and junior Juan Ibanez (200 IM and 100 butterfly). Like Uy, Demoss was also undefeated in his individual events at midseason.

The Titans progress will be measured at this year’s conference finals meet May 15 at the Loma Verde pool.
“The team’s only gotten better with each year. We getting new freshmen every year,” Monzon said.

Lancers sweep Crusaders
Hilltop High’s boys and girls swim teams both improved to 4-1 in conference dual meets after sweeping Marian Catholic in a South Bay League matchup April 1 at the Parkway pool. The Lancer girls took first-place finishes in all 12 events to prevail 140-27 while the Lancer boys won 111-67.

Hilltop’s Andrea Meier (200 freestyle, 100 backstroke) and Sofia Murga (50 freestyle, diving) each won two individual events to highlight the girls meet. For Marian Catholic, Jesus Ibarra (100 butterfly and backstroke) and Francis Calma (200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke) both doubled.