With Hurricane Lee due to pass just off shore this weekend, there’ll be rip currents aplenty at the beaches.
Quite a few have already been kicked up by girls swim teams in area pools.
Lyman Hall, Cheshire and Southington all won meets this week. The Rams ripped Mercy 98-64 on Tuesday, while on Wednesday the Trojans took out Branford 106-73 and Southington nipped E.O. Smith/Tolland 82-78.
For CHS and SHS, the meets were the season openers. For LH, Wednesday’s win at Walsh Intermediate School in Branford made the Trojans 2-0.
Lyman Hall 106, Branford 73: The Trojans won everything, from Grace D’Amico, Hailey Baker, Jessica Rinaldi and Meredith Loughlin taking the 200 medley relay to C.C. Tran, D’Amico, Loughlin and Sydney Drumheller combining on the first-place 400 freestyle relay.
In between, D’Amico, Baker and Rinaldi delivered two individual wins apiece.
D’Amico’s came in the 200 freestyle (2:15.12) and 100 backstroke (1:06.41).
Baker brought in the 200 IM (2:24.32) and 100 butterfly (1:03.91), while Rinaldi out-sprinted the field in the 50 freestyle (27.93) and 100 free (1:01.71).
Another double-winner was Sienna DeLucia. The sophomore captured diving with 239.35 points and the 100 breaststroke in 1:25.06.
DeLucia also swam on the 200 freestyle relay with Baker, Rinaldi and Lucia Zito.
Meredith Loughlin was tops in the 500 freestyle in 5:59.42.
Southington 82, E.O. Smith/Tolland 78: A sweep of the relays and a pair of individual victories from both Ella Nadeau and Mia Kennedy carried the Blue Knights to the season-opening win in a CCC crossover meet at the Southington YMCA.
Mia Kennedy, a junior, captured the 500 freestyle in 6:15.84 and the 100 breaststroke in 1:19.66.
Nadeau, Southington’s returning All-State senior, swept the freestyle sprints, taking the 50 in 26.23 seconds and the 100 in 56.13.
Nadeau also anchored the first-place freestyle relays. She and fellow Julia Laszewski teamed with Veronica Okurowski and Alex Szczepanik on the 200 free (1:50.54) and with Victoria Korczak and Kyra Nguyen on the 400 (4:02.84).
Laszewski took the individual 200 freestyle in 2:15.52.
Okurowski brought home the 100 butterfly (1:05.99) and joined Reaghan Samson, Nguyen and anchor Mariam Labadze on the first-place medley relay (2:03.24).
Samson took the 100 backstroke in 1:08.89.
Cheshire 94, Mercy 64: The Rams opened their season with the SCC victory at the Middletown YMCA over the host Tigers behind Natalia Gajecki, who won both the 100 freestyle (58.11) and 200 free (2:08.03) and led off two first-place relays.
Gajecki teamed with Helen Baxter, Julia Barto and Lauren Waitkus on the 200 medley (2:02.11) and combined with Morgan McDonough, Julia Bevilacqua and Annie Superchi on the 200 freestyle (1:49.84).
Barto, the returning All-American, went on to take the 100 butterfly (1:00.42).
Superchi, a freshman, posted her first varsity victory in the 500 freestyle (5:33.19). Fellow frosh Courtney Gutmann did the same in the 200 IM (2:26.17), edging teammate Carly Cahill by .08 of a second.
CHS went 1-2-3 in the 200 IM, 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle. By the time the 200 free relay was in the books, the Rams swam on exhibition.