It’s been a winter of wins for the Westboro High girls' and boys' swimming teams. Both Rangers squads splashed to consecutive victories over Northbridge, Bromfield, Shrewsbury, Wachusett and Nashoba.
In a big Mid-Wach League matchup, the Rangers were scheduled to face Algonquin Sunday night at the Boroughs YMCA in Westboro. That meet pitted the 5-0 Westboro girls vs. the 5-0 Algonquin girls.
“We’re doing really well with our 15 girls, and it’s really fun when everyone is cheering for us on deck,” said senior captain Marisa Papagelis, who specializes in the 50 and 100 freestyles and the 100 backstroke. “We have more depth than in past years, enough swimmers to fill every event.”
In the Rangers' most recent victory, over Nashoba last week at Clark University, Papagelis won the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
Other talented swimmers on the Rangers girls’ team include juniors Emma Kudej and Jordan Connolly, along with freshman Anya Wallace and sophomore Nishka Pant.
Kudej grabbed gold against Wachusett in the 200 and 100 free, as did Connolly in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke. Wallace won the 200 and 500 freestyles last week against Nashoba. Pant, in the season-opening meet against Northbridge at Holy Cross, won the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly.
“They’re all strong, and most of our top girls have already made sectionals,” said Westboro coach Bethany Bergmann, in her 21st year coaching the Rangers.
Seniors Spencer Brownewell and Louis Gencarelli captain the Westboro boys’ squad.
“We have really good chemistry on this team. We all work together very well, said Gencarelli, who has qualified for the sectionals in the 50 and 100 freestyle and won both of those events in the meet against Shrewsbury. “We have a close bond and we really value that on this team.”
Brownewell is a frequent winner in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke and a state qualifier in both events already. Before his family moved to Westboro, Brownewell swam on the varsity team during his freshman and sophomore years in upstate New York at Niskayuna High.
“Spencer and Louis are both great kids and great leaders,” Bergmann said. “Plus, they bring a lot of fun to the team.”
Other valuable scorers for Westboro are seniors Aaron Wong, a strong freestyle and backstroker, and individual medley talent Savant Liu.
And, of course, there hasn’t been a meet yet when Westboro sophomore star Justin Papagelis hasn’t posted a victory. Last week in the meet against Nashoba at Clark University, Papagelis won the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke.
Papagelis, last year’s T&G Hometeam Swimmer of the Year as a freshman, was the runner-up in the 2017 Division 2 state meet in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke.
Churning along
The Algonquin girls, before meeting Westboro on Sunday night, defeated Gardner, Nashoba, Leominster, Northbridge and Tyngsboro for a five-meet winning streak.
The Tomahawks have seven senior girls, including talented captains Annie Lindgren, a freestyle sprinter and butterfly swimmer, and breaststroke specialist Sofie Hopkins.
“The team voted for Annie and Sofie as captains of both the boys and girls teams,” Algonquin coach Jean Fedak. “Although we compete as two teams, we see ourselves as one team, and we always try to promote the one-team attitude.”
The other seniors are Nicole Saulnier (individual medley, breaststroke), Xiaoying Zheng (freestyle), Caroline Seppa (backstroke), Olivia Hermanspan (freestyle, breaststroke) and Allison Berardi (butterfly, freestyle).
“Our girls have pulled together in each meet even when we’ve been battling illness,” Fedak said. “We seem to dig in and pull off wins.”
Sophomore Angela Lin, in her first year of swimming for the Tomahawks, set a school record in the 100 breaststroke. Lin’s time of 1:11.46 beat the record of 1:12.47 set by Karen Ficenec in 2010.
Other strong swimmers on the 31-member Algonquin girls squad include junior Kate Beland in the 200 and 500 freestyles and backstroke, and sophomore Alexi Wong in freestyle, IM and backstroke.
Sophomore Lizzie Meschisen adds valuable points for the Tomahawks when diving is in the mix.
“Last year, Lizzie set the school record in the 1-meter dive, and she’s closing in on breaking her own record this year,” Fedak said. Meschisen placed sixth at sectionals and 11th at the state meet last year.
Unfortunately for Algonquin, Meschisen couldn’t dive against Westboro because the Boroughs YMCA has no diving board. The Rangers have no divers.
The Algonquin boys, with a roster of 10 and no seniors, are 3-2, with victories over Gardner, Leominster and Northbridge. Leading the way for the Tomahawks are junior Matt Beland, who excels in the same events as his twin sister Kate: the 200 and 500 freestyles, along with backstroke, and junior Ray Cerro, who competes strongly in any event.
Junior James Carroll, a triathlete, has made the move to competitive swimming this year, performing well in the 500 free. Rounding out the squad are Ryan Murphy, a junior freestyler, and freshman twins Brandon and Will Saulnier. Brandon specializes in the breaststroke and the IM, and Will competes in backstroke and butterfly.
Through 21 seasons, Fedek has guided the Tomahawks to a combined boys and girls record of 217-86 for an impressive .716 winning percentage. Over the last 2½ seasons, the girls' swimming and diving teams were 25-2 entering the Sunday meet against Westboro.
“It’s been a fun season for us, and we’re looking forward to sectionals and the state meet,” Fedak said.
—Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com.