Posted: Feb. 16, 2010 |(0) Comments

Whitefish Bay boys swim coach Jim Davis got it right Saturday.

First, his team won the WIAA Division 2 sectional at Cudahy. The eighth time in a row and 13th time in the last 14 years that the Blue Dukes have achieved that feat.

They also advanced 12 individuals and three relay teams to the D2 state meet in Madison on Friday, also a fine endeavor.

And on top of it all, the man remembered to bring his wife flowers and a card when he got home from the meet.

After all, it was the day before Valentine's Day.

"I think her response was 'When did you find the time?' " laughed a happy Davis, whose team also purged some of the disappointment they had after the previous week's discouraging narrow loss in the North Shore Conference meet. "All week long we tried to stay focused and forget about what happened (at conference).

"We wanted to look ahead."

And they succeeded, as did other North Shore area schools. Shorewood was second in the meet and advanced 10 individuals and three relays, while, in its first foray in D2, Nicolet advanced four individuals and two relays while a young Brown Deer/University School squad will send two individuals and a relay team.

"It was funny," said Brown Deer/USM co-coach Bob Van Lieshout. "All four of us seemed to walk out of there a little frustrated, but all for different reasons."

No ill effects from NSC meet

But if Davis was letting on that the Blue Dukes had a hangover from the NSC meet, he wasn't admitting it, and Bay didn't perform like it either.

Bay took five firsts en route to a 377 point total as Shorewood was second with 349, Nicolet third with 270 and Brown Deer/USM fourth with 230.

The all-senior 200 medley relay team of Chris Fink, Jason Castillo, Tommy Hiller and Rob Colton got the meet off with a bang with a winning time of one minute, 42.02 seconds, while the Shorewood crew of Stephen Meyer, Mike Ross, Asher Kaufman and Andrew Eder finished second (1:42.82) and also advanced.

Other firsts for the Blue Dukes included Chuckie Prestigiacomo in the 50 free (22.65) as Shorewood's Eder took second and qualified (23.15).

Hiller also won a thriller of a 500 free over BD/USM's Stephen Grambow (5:04.52-5:04.75), while Fink took the 100 backstroke (54.87) over Shorewood's Meyer (55.95) and the 400 free relay team of Fink, Castillo, D.J. Friesch and Prestigiacomo (3:20.46) was also victorious.

Shorewood, in a pattern repeated often in this meet, was second in that 400 free relay again with Jay Tomasiewicz, Isaac Flegel-Mishlove, R.J. Hayes and Meyer (3:23.54).

"We got the meet off to a great start (with the medley relay) and things just started to go well," said Davis. "… There was just one exciting race after another. Every event it seemed someone was turning in a great time."

For Shorewood, the only first was taken by the 200 free relay team of Tomasiewicz, Kaufman, Ross and Hayes (1:31.77).

"We had another fine collective performance as a team," said Greyhounds coach Rob McCabe, whose team had won the Woodland Conference championship the week before, "and for the third straight year we finished second in the sectional. I'm really proud of the guys who qualified for state and sending three (relay) teams to the meet, I believe, makes us a powerhouse team."

Welcome to D2

Nicolet coach Dwight Davis was grateful to the help that Jim Davis and McCabe provided him as they gave him the ins and outs of the D2 state schedule and other valuable tidbits. The Knights have been in Division I every year up until this one.

"They were so helpful with all those small logistical questions about the school day and hotels and things like that," said Davis, whose team advanced three divers and butterflyer Ben Wynn along with two freestyle relay teams that both earned the 16th and final qualifying spot.

"I guess the name of the game for us this week is to go out and beat somebody," laughed Davis.

And though the number of qualifiers was small for Brown Deer/USM, Van Lieshout was not at all unhappy with the effort.

"Between the relays and the individual swims we had 26 personal bests," he said. "It was just super. We started out badly (getting the medley relay disqualified) but then we said 'What's next?' and the kids really responded."

And as for Jim Davis, the big picture is already in focus with his senior-dominated team as they look ahead to Friday's state meet. Bay has been second four times since 2004 including last year. Defending champion McFarland is a heavy favorite.

"To go up there and get a trophy (either first or second) would be so very important," he said. "It would finalize well a career for these guys who have been so loyal to the program and to me."

UP NEXT

WHAT: WIAA Division 2 meet is at UW-Madison Natatorium

TIMES: Diving at 2:30 p.m. Friday; swimming at 6:30 p.m. Friday

FULL LIST OF AREA QUALIFIERS:

BAY - Bobby Rinka in diving, Rob Colton in the 100 and 200 freestyles, D.J. Friesch and Jason Castillo in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, ChuckiePrestigiacomo in the 50 and 100 freestyles, Tommy Hiller in the 500 free and 100 fly, Chris Fink in the 100 backstroke and the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 free relay teams.

SHOREWOOD - R. J. Hayes in the 200 and 100 frees, Jay Tomasiewicz in the 200 IM, Andrew Eder in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke, Stephen Meyer in the 100 butterfly and the 100 backstroke, Isaac Flegel-Mishlove in the 500 free and Ross in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke and the 200 medley and 200 and 400 freestyle relays.

NICOLET - Kyle Silverhus, Noah Gilday and Evan Silverhus in diving; Ben Wynn in the 100 butterfly; the 200 free relay team of Grant Wilkie, Drew Shuster, Konrad Holtz and Wynn; and the 400 free relay of Jamie DeGraff, Shuster, Holtz and Wynn.

BROWN DEER/USM - Colin Rice in diving, Stephen Grambow in the 500 free and 400 free relay team of Jim Jens, Grambow, Steve Lillie and Bill Wong.