By Kim J. Harmon

With Sarah Hemingway and Meghan O’Day qualifying for the South-West Conference championship meet and with eight other athletes posting personal best times, the Newtown High School swim team might almost be able to overlook the 97-84 loss suffered to Masuk on the final night of the dual meet season.

The Pantherettes dominated, winning all but one event (the 50 freestyle, where Amy Robinson finished first with a personal best time of 27.61), and dropped the ‘Hawks (with three losses in a row) to 5-8 on the season.

Robinson missed qualifying for the CIAC state meet in the 50 free by just .01 seconds.

At the SWCs, however, which began on Wednesday night (after press time) with the diving portion, 15 Newtown swimmers qualified – seniors Margaret Ashey and Heather Rebb; juniors Jeanmarie Morlath, Liz Portnoy and Melissa Rushefski; sophomores Kate Hoolehan, O’Day and Margaret Randall; and freshmen Hemingway, Lauren Kotwicki, Caitlin Malloy, Jessica Remitz, Robinson, Kim Mayers and Tierney Carey.

In the loss to Masuk (on Senior Night, which honored Ashey, Rebb, Nikki Singer, Genna McCann and manager Nikki LaRoche), a number of personal best times were posted. Hemingway went 6:28.81 in the 500 freestyle while O’Day went 1:24.63 in the 100 backstroke to lead the charge, but Rebb (1:07.62 in the 100 free), Rushesfski (1:01.96 in the 100 free), Diana Bowen (1:23.70 in the 100 back), and Randall (1:19.34 in the 100 breast) were right behind.

Newtown                        84

Masuk               97

 

200 medley relay – 1. Masuk 2:08.57, 2. Newtown (Robinson, Randall, Ashey, Kotwicki) 2:09.98, 3. Masuk 2:17.56; 200 freestyle – 1. Horvath (M) 2:06.51, 2. Cerulli (M) 2:14.15, 3. Rushefski (N) 2:14.35, 4. McKanan (M) 2:28.15, 5. Rebb (N) 2:26.60; 200 individual medley – 1. Horvath (M) 2:23.65, 2. A. Duffy (M) 2:23.82, 3. Ashey (N) 2:31.32, 4. Malloy (N) 2:43.82, 5. Randall (N) 2:51.07; 50 freestyle – 1. Robinson (N) 27.61, 2. M. Duffy (M) 27.82, 3. Rickards (M) 29.14, 4. Kotwicki (N) 29.23, 5. Krutz (M) 30.41; Diving – 1. Quinlarin (M) 171.4 points, 2. Werdmann (M) 163.15 points, 3. Mayers (N) 147.7 points, 4. Cedegren (N) 115.45 points, 5. Carey (N) 104.9 points; 100 butterfly – 1. A. Duffy (M) 1:08.91, 2. Rickards (M) 1:12.92, 3. Malloy (N) 1:14.96, 4. Kotwicki (N) 1:16.48, 5. Soupkop (M) 1:33.96; 100 freestyle – 1. Cenilli (M) 1:00.55, 2. Rushefski (N) 1:01.96, 3. Donofrio (M) 1:03.38, 4. Rickards (M) 1:04.91, 5. Portnoy (N) 1:05.61; 500 freestyle – 1. Horvath (M) 5:43.75, 2. Ashey (N) 5:56.96, 3. Hemingway (N) 6:28.81, 4. Cupero (N) 6:38.65, 5. From (M) 7:32.00; 200 freestyle relay – 1.  Masuk 1:52.16, 2. Newtown (Murphy, Malloy, Kotwicki, Rushefski) 1:59.42, 3. Masuk 1:59.99; 100 backstroke – 1.  Duffy (M) 1:09.72, 2. Robinson (N) 1:12.35, 3. Glander (N) 1:20.68, 4. Schulich (M) 1:21.64, 5. Bowen (N) 1:23.70. (Masuk swam the 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay unofficially).