New Leader Looks To Make Splash With Hawk Swimmers

By Andy Hutchison

There are lots of changes, from the coaching staff to the pool itself, for the Newtown High School girls’ swimming and diving team to get used to this fall.

Zach Gauvin is the new coach for the Nighthawks, who are striving for one of the top spots in the regular season and South-West Conference Championships.

Gauvin, an education assistant at the high school, succeeds Matt Childs as the team leader. Childs, who remains a teacher at NHS, left the program to pursue his graduate degree. Gauvin is excited to take over. A former swimmer in college, Gauvin competed in the breast stroke and individual medley events at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. A former high school swimmer in Massachusetts, this is his second year as a teacher at NHS and first head coaching gig.

“This is a great opportunity for me. I’ve been looking forward to becoming a coach for a while now,” Gauvin said. He is joined by a new assistant, Katherine Matz.

Because of school construction, Newtown’s home pool — for the time being — is at Oxford High School.

Although the pool may not be so familiar and the coaching staff has new faces, in the pool, things are pretty familiar for the Nighthawks. They are led by senior captains Liz Poeltl, Krysta Gates, and Alex Scarpa. Poeltl is a diver, Gates a strong 500-yard freestyle swimmer, and Scarpa a strong sprint freestyler.

Other key Hawks, whom Gauvin expects good things from are senior distance swimmers Evelyn Fahey and Caroline Fagerholm, senior sprint freestyle swimmer Caroline Lawrence, junior sprint freestyler Kelsey McEvoy, and sophomore IMer Zoe Eggleston. Senior diver Maggie Atkinson is another Hawk to watch.

“Our team strength is our depth in numbers,” said Gauvin, adding that freestyle and sprint and distance events are all strong points. “The goal is to finish among the top three in the SWC.”

The toughest competition stands to come from perennial powerhouse Pomperaug of Southbury.