By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
On Nov. 7, the Whitewater High School girls swimming team competed in the WIAA Sectional held at Cudahy High School. The Sectional consisted of 12 teams and the Whippets finished in sixth, totaling 194.5 points.
New Berlin Eisenhower took first with 330. Whippets head coach Gina Foucault said Elkhorn was the Whippets’ rival, and Whitewater narrowly beat out Elkhorn, as the Elks finished in seventh with 176 points.
In order to score points for their team’s total score, swimmers have to place in the top-16 in an event. Of the 18 total swims for the Whippets, 15 recorded top-16 finishes. Highlighting the competition for Whitewater was senior Sydney Zimdars.
Zimdars swam a 5:16.21 in the 500 freestyle, and with that, qualified for the WIAA State Swim Meet on Friday. The 500 freestyle featured many Whippets, as five total swimmers, including Zimdars, placed within the top-14.
Sophomore Grace Fanshaw swam a 5:28.05, earning her a fifth-place finish. Behind Zimdars and Fanshaw were juniors Madeline Kuhl, Anna Yeazel and Sierra Minton, placing ninth, 10th and 14th, respectively.
Aside from Zimdars’ third-place finish in the 500 freestyle, other top performances included Yeazel’s fourth-place finish in the 100 breaststroke and Fanshaw’s fifth-place finish in the 200 IM. Yeazel recorded a 1:13.18 while Fanshaw swam a 2:20.84 in their respective races.
To go along with the 15 top-16 finishes for the Whippets, 15 of the 21 total races in which the team earned points were best times. Outside of Zimdars, Fanshaw, Kuhl, Yeazel and Minton – four other swimmers also completed top-16 swims – as Sydney Hackney, Morgan Radaj, Alyssa Nelson and Ireland Marinaro earned the Whippets more points.
In the three group races, Whitewater earned two sixth-place finishes and one ninth-place finish. The sixth-place finishes came in the 200 medley relay by the group of Zimdars, Yeazel, Fanshaw and Hackney, while the other took place in the 200 freestyle relay by the group of Hackney, Minton, Fanshaw and Zimdars.
The ninth-place finish came in the 400 freestyle relay thanks to Minton, Marinaro, Kuhl and Yeazel. The WIAA Sectional marks the final meet for the Whippets in 2015.
Zimdars will be competing in the WIAA State Meet, which begins at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at the UW Natatorium in Madison.
