Schools
Lady Pirate Swimmers Strive to Create Successful "Family"
Pearl River opens season 4:15 p.m. today against Clarkstown North at Felix Festa Middle School.
The Pearl River girls swimming team competes in a perennially-strong conference that each year finds the Lady Pirates competing
with county powers Suffern, Tappan Zee and North Rockland.
But there are other obstacles that long-time coach Ken Driscoll has grown to accept, challenges he asks his girls to overcome.
“Our biggest hurdle is no home facility," Driscoll said. "Typically we train from 8 to 10 at night and before school, or we are forced to train outside, sometimes in adverse conditions. It is also difficult having all our meets on the road. It is 20 minutes to the pool where we train at Felix Festa. With no facility at our school it makes it hard to develop any school spirit. It is not easy for our students to get to our meets. Historically, the top programs in Rockland all have home facilities.”
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Driscoll is entering his 13th year as the head coach at Pearl River, where his team won the Conference IV title in 2003. His roots in Rockland swimming run deep, competing for four years under his father, the highly successful, long-time Tappan Zee coach Don Driscoll, before graduating in 1997.
But it appears that under Driscoll, who started the varsity program at Pearl River with seven girls in 1999, there is some very positive momentum as the current varsity and junior varsity rosters include between 55 and 60 team members.
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“We have had consistent growth in numbers, peaking in the last two or three years," Driscoll said. “We have always had girls qualifying for section or states. In 2007 Stacey Rogers was the section champ in the 500 freestyle.
"But, we are keeping swimming in prespective. The girls are here to learn and to make a positive impact on our team. Swimming is the avenue that we are using. At the end of practice we always come together and say ‘family.’ We are using that as the centerpiece of our team.”
Driscoll is pleased to have a number of outstanding athletes returning to his Lady Pirate squad including:
- Teresa McKallen, a state qualifier last year as a sophomore in the 100-meter breaststroke and as a freshman in the 200-meter individual medley.
- Taylor Hodges, a county champ in the 100-meter butterfly and a top-three finisher in the 100-meter breaststroke.
- Nicole Maher, a team captain who swam on the school-record-breaking 200-meter medley relay last year and a section qualifier in the 50 meter freestyle.
- Molly O’Hagan, a team captain who holds school records in the six-dive format and 11-dive format.
- Olivia Lappas, a distance specialist in the 200 and 500-meter freestyles.
Newcomers who are expected to make contributions this season
include:
- Kathleen Gallagher in the breaststroke.
- Brigid Wynne in the 50 and 100-meter freestyles.
- Eigth-grader Kaitlyn Lang in the butterfly and breaststroke.
Driscoll was very clear in expressing his coaching philosophy for the Pearl River swimming program.
“Our team goals have to do with our practice routines, working hard and supporting each other," Driscoll said. "If we do the right things in practice and school, good things will happen. We are not focusing only on the product, on winning and losing. We want to work hard and stay positive.
“It is a different approach. Rather than having these kids on a roller coaster ride based on winning and losing, in reality it should only be doing the best that we can do Wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
The Lady Pirates open their season against Clarkstown North 4:15 p.m. today at Felix Festa Middle School in West Nyack.
Pearl River Girls Varsity Swimming 2011 Schedule
Day, Date
Time
Type
Opponent
Site
Thu, Sept. 15
4:15 p.m.
League
Clarkstown
Felix Festa Middle School
Sat, Sept. 17
10 a.m.
League
Tappan Zee
South Orangetown Middle School
Tue, Sept. 20
4:15 p.m.
League
Suffern
Suffern H.S.
Thu, Sept. 22
4:15 p.m.
League
Nyack
Rockland CC
Tue, Sept. 27
4:30 p.m.
Non-League
North Rockland
North Rockland H.S.
Thu, Oct. 13
4:15 p.m.
League
East Ramapo
Rockland CC
Tue, Oct. 18
4:30 p.m.
League
North Rockland
North Rockland HS
Pearl River Girls Varsity Swimming 2011 Roster
Name Grade
Brown, Erin 9
Carmody, Shannon 12
Castillo, Jennifer 11
Conway, Megan 8
Crawley, Jennifer 11
Crawley, Nicole 11
DeCaprio, Caitlyn 9
Fenlon, Colleen 10
Ficoratta, Sydney 9
Gallagher, Kathleen 10
Harris, Courtney 11
Hodges, Taylor 11
Jochum, Haley 9
Kang, Junee 10
Kerins, Deanna 9
Lang, Kaitlyn 8
Lappas, Olivia 11
Loeffler, Shannon 9
Maye, Adrienne 11
McGinley, Aisling 9
McKallen, Theresa 11
Murphy, Treasa 11
Maher, Nicole 12
O'Hagan, Molly 12
Park, Hye Won 9
Rasch, Erica 12
Reimer, Madison 12
Roberts, Sara 11
Rosas, Cassandra 10
Ryan, Emma 9
Sabino, Kristen 12
Shine, Katie 9
Sullivan, Amanda 11
Szlaz, Jessica 12
Tavormina, Julianna 9
Taylor, Tiffany 9
Wilson, Sandra 9
Wynne, Brigid 10
Yang, Nanxi 11
Yorke, Kathleen 12
Zambrano, Erika 9
Zuidema, Katherine 9
2011 Pearl River
Girls Varsity Swimming Team
Name Grade
Brown, Erin 9
Carmody, Shannon 12
Castillo, Jennifer 11
Conway, Megan 8
Crawley, Jennifer 11
Crawley, Nicole 11
DeCaprio, Caitlyn 9
Fenlon, Colleen 10
Ficoratta, Sydney 9
Gallagher, Kathleen 10
Harris, Courtney 11
Hodges, Taylor 11
Jochum, Haley 9
Kang, Junee 10
Kerins, Deanna 9
Lang, Kaitlyn 8
Lappas, Olivia 11
Loeffler, Shannon 9
Maye, Adrienne 11
McGinley, Aisling 9
McKallen, Theresa 11
Murphy, Treasa 11
Maher, Nicole 12
O'Hagan, Molly 12
Park, Hye Won 9
Rasch, Erica 12
Reimer, Madison 12
Roberts, Sara 11
Rosas, Cassandra 10
Ryan, Emma 9
Sabino, Kristen 12
Shine, Katie 9
Sullivan, Amanda 11
Szlaz, Jessica 12
Tavormina, Julianna 9
Taylor, Tiffany 9
Wilson, Sandra 9
Wynne, Brigid 10
Yang, Nanxi 11
Yorke, Kathleen 12
Zambrano, Erika 9
Zuidema, Katherine 9
