On Saturday, the Dolphins got the best of the Sharks with a 423-361 triumph at the North Chevy Chase pool. Although the Dolphin lead at half-time was an uneasy 15½ points, a great effort by many Dolphin breaststrokers who swam faster than their seeds created a comfortable lead which grew even more during fly.

Perhaps the most exciting event in the meet was the boys’ 18-and-under medley relay, where Matthew Tucker, Ramzy Suleiman, Kevin Wagman, and Willie Conaghan combined for a nerve-wracking 0.12-second victory over the North Chevy Chase team. Everyone on both sides of the pool was screaming while Willie courageously held off the NCC anchor. And being only 14, Iron Man Willie shortly returned to swim in his personal freestyle, individual medley, and backstroke events—that’s four events before the break. And even after the break, he dropped nearly half a second in his breaststroke time to join Spencer Steele and Dylan Wilson and lead the 13-14 boys in a sweep. Amazing!


SWEEPS CONTINUE
Although the NCC team featured some truly outstanding swimmers, the Dolphins did manage to achieve several other sweeps on Saturday. Perhaps the most notable was the girls’ 8-and-under backstroke, led by 6-year-old Danielle Lair, Kaili Gregory and Mia Greene. Danielle may be the first six-year-old Dolphin victor since 2000. Unbelievable!

A different trio of awesome 8-and-under girls swept their freestyle and fly events: Hannah Melrod, Zoe Humeau, and Emily Austin. The 8-and under boys swept the lone event that their female counterparts did not: breaststroke. Kudos to Max Palermo, Pieter Fosburgh, and Paul Rock.

Other sweeps included the girls’ 12 and under IM, led by Callie Fosburgh, Elizabeth Fosburgh, and Elena Palermo. Callie and Elizabeth were joined by the always marvelous Madeline Alagia in sweeping the 11-12 girls’ freestyle and fly events.

Like the 13-14 boys, the 14-year-old trio of Malena Lair, Jessica Sheehan and Corinne Tucker also swept breaststroke. Last but not least, the girls relay teams swept the final event. The first place team of Elena Palermo, Callie Fosburgh, Malena Lair, and Hannah Melrod set a new record for the North Chevy Chase pool; the second-place team of Nora Harrington, Elizabeth Fosburgh, Danielle Schulkin and Zoe Humeau finished 7 seconds ahead of the NCC team! Ladies, we salute you.


ALL STAR TIMES GALORE
Nine different Bannockburn swimmers achieved All-Star times this week in 20 stellar performances. All-Star performances were achieved by Nicky Schulkin in backstroke, Hannah Melrod in breaststroke, Pieter Fosburgh in freestyle and fly, Elena Palermo in freestyle and breaststroke, Elizabeth Fosburgh in IM, freestyle and fly, Callie Fosburgh in IM, freestyle, backstroke and fly, Malena Lair in IM, freestyle and backstroke, and Danielle Schulkin in freestyle, backstroke and fly. This week’s special congratulations go to Ryan Chitwood, who achieved his first all-star time of the year, knocking two-plus seconds from his seed time in a splendiferous performance in 11-12 breaststroke.


ALMOST ALL-STARS
Several other swimmers are close to that magical all-star mark, needing to trim only two seconds off their best times to achieve that status. This group of superb performers includes Julia Ely, Jackson Janezich, Charlotte Jeppsen, Anita Montero, Max Palermo, Sam Snedden, Vincent Steis, Ramzy Suleiman and Megan Wirtz. Keep up the great work; the Dolphins will be pulling for you this week!


NEW RECORDS AT A MEET
In addition to the Bannockburn name being added next to the girls’ relay spot on the North Chevy Chase record board, Hannah Melrod slashed 0.44 second off the pool record set 13 years ago in 8-and-under breaststroke. Callie Fosburgh trimmed 0.08 second off her team fly record set at the first meet of the season. Congratulations to Callie, Hannah and their relay mates Elena and Malena!


PERFECT MEETS
Several swimmers won all their events: John Janezich and Hannah Melrod in free, breaststroke and fly, Callie Fosburgh in IM, free, backstroke and fly, and Malena Lair in IM, freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke. Elena Palermo’s first place in free, breaststroke and fly is not diminished by her third-place finish swimming IM with the older 11-12 girls.


SPECIAL SWIM-UPS
We failed to acknowledge 10-year-old Lily Conaghan, who swam an incredible 100 meter 15-18 backstroke in the A meet with Franklin Knolls and earned precious points for the Dolphins. This is a distance that even the heartiest teenager has been heard to complain about. Lily, you are awesome. This past weekend, 11-year-old Sarah Silberbrandt bravely earned valuable points in 15-18 free, back and fly. See the Coach’s Corner for Coach Sam Brownell’s comments about Sarah.


A MEET DEBUT
We apologize for failing to acknowledge Charlotte Jeppsen’s A meet debut at the Franklin Knolls meet. She had a great first meet, finishing third in 9-10 backstroke, and a more amazing second meet, tying for first with Megan Wirtz in the same event!


TIME DROP AWARDS
This week’s time drop champion is Sarah Silberbrandt, who dropped ten seconds in her 50-meter butterfly. Congratulations, Sarah. Another awesome time drop was achieved by Marty Dolan, who dropped nearly seven seconds from his previous 15-18 breaststroke best, finishing fourth and nearly touching out the third-place NCC swimmer! Congratulations, Marty! A close third place goes to Kevin Wagman, who dropped nearly 3 seconds in both 15-18 IM and breaststroke. Several Dolphins dropped two seconds in at least one stroke, including Andrew Wagman and Caitlin Rooney in IM, Peter Metz in freestyle, Gabe Melrod in backstroke, and Ryan Chitwood in breaststroke.


DOLPHINS FINISH SECOND IN THE RELAY CARNIVAL!
Sunday’s Relay Carnival, often the most exciting meet of the year, ended with the Dolphins tied for second place with Franklin Knolls. Although there are only 22 events, the Dolphins won an astounding six of these, and also had three great second-place finishes and five solid third-place finishes. Many team records were shattered on this memorable day.

Congratulations to the six first-place teams, all of which will advance to the MCSL All-Star Relay Meet on Saturday, July 29. These include the team record-setting 175-meter 14-and-under girls’ freestyle relay, swum on Sunday by Elena Palermo, Callie Fosburgh, Danielle Schulkin and Hannah Melrod. The next Bannockburn victory and another team record occurred in the mixed 13-14 freestyle relay, including Jackson Janezich, Danielle Schulkin, Willie Conaghan, and Malena Lair. Malena, Callie, Danielle and Elizabeth Fosburgh then joined forces to win the girls’ open age 200-meter medley, slashing nearly 10 seconds off the 22-year-old team record. This is a particularly notable victory as this event is usually swum by 15-18 year olds. Indeed, we won handily with probably the youngest team in the pool, most especially 11-year-old Elizabeth.

After the ten-minute break, Malena Lair, Hannah Melrod, Elena Palermo and Callie Fosburgh triumphed in the 14-and-under 100-meter medley. Those astounding 8-and-under boys then followed with a medley triumph of their own; congratulations to Nicky Schulkin, Max Palermo, Pieter Fosburgh, and Sam Snedden. The next medley event won by Dolphins was by Elizabeth Fosburgh, Sophie Koneff, Callie Fosburgh, and Madeline Alagia, who broke the 24-year-old Dolphin 11-12 girls’ medley record. (Please note all winners go to Relay All Stars with the exception of the Open Medley and the Graduated Free. These two events, which are swum every week and in divisionals, are represented at All Stars by the fastest relays over the entire season – which hopefully will be our!)

The three great second-place Dolphin finishes occurred in the boys’ 14-and-under freestyle (less than a second from first), the mixed 9-10 freestyle, and the girls’ 13-14 medley. An indicator of the high degree of competition in Division F was experienced by the mixed 11-12 freestyle team of Callie Fosburgh, Andy Lair, Ryan Chitwood and Elizabeth Fosburgh, who set a new team record yet finished third, 0.62 second from first. Other third-place finishes were achieved by Dolphins in the mixed eight-and-under freestyle, the boys’ 14-and-under and 13-14 medleys, and the girls’ 9-10 medley. Congratulations to the entire team for a superb meet.

And finally, let’s tip our hats or swim caps or whatever to Dolphin parents Grace Melrod, April Oliver, Hank Steingass and Larry Wagman, who combined for a victory in the informal parents’ event at the end of the Relay Carnival.


COACH’S LONG COURSE MEET
Tonight (Tuesday) marks the annual Coaches’ Long Course Invitational meet, which is designed to pit the MCSL swimmers with the eight fastest times in each event against each other—but at twice the distance in a 50-meter-long pool. Seven different Dolphins will be swimming—perhaps a record number. We wish Callie Fosburgh, Elizabeth Fosburgh, Peter Fosburgh, Malena Lair, Hannah Melrod, and Danielle Schulkin the best of luck in their events. And we also wish Elena Palermo even greater luck in actually swimming, as she has the unfortunate distinction of being seeded as the first alternate in two different events. Please come to the Long Course to cheer on your teammates! (Info on the meet at www.mcsl.org )


RAINED-OUT B MEET RESCHEDULED FOR JULY 19
Alas, Mother Nature was not very cooperative last Wednesday, resulting in the cancellation of the B meet versus Old Georgetown. It has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 19 at Bannockburn. Dolphin warm-ups will be at 5:00.

We need lots of parents to help with this meet. Please email Karen Tucker ( karensue3@aol.com ) to volunteer, or sign up on the pool bulletin board, or let Sandy Spigler know how you can help. Thanks.


PRETEAM
The preteamers continue to improve their swimming by leaps and bounds (and dives and streamlines). The high point of the Preteam season will be at the 5:30 Blue and Gold meet on July 12, after which trophies will be distributed while we munch away at dinner. Please come cheer on the preteamers and congratulate them on their progress.


COACH’S CORNER — Sam Brownell
Excellent job getting back on the winning track this weekend. We had two incredible meets, starting with a great rally in the second half of the North Chevy Chase meet and followed with an amazing Sunday at the Relay Carnival where we placed second.

A few swims this weekend deserve to be highlighted. First, we had an amazing swim up on Saturday by an amazing swimmer. Sarah Silberbrandt showed us all what it means to be part of a team by swimming three 15-18 events and placing in all of them. Congratulations to Sarah and we are so glad you are on our team.

Second, Marty Dolan and Kevin Wagman dropped 7 and 3 seconds respectively from their best times in an exciting 15-18 100 Breaststroke.

Third, Willie Conaghan had an amazing anchor leg in the Men's Open 200 Medley on Saturday and held off the NCC swimmer for the win. Fourth, our Girls Open Medley on Sunday at the Relay Carnival, which was swum by Malena Lair, Callie Fosburgh, Danielle Schulkin and anchored by 11-year-old Elizabeth Fosburgh, dominated all of the other teams 15-18 girls to take first place.

And finally, I would like to thank the entire Bannockburn team for responding so well after a tough loss last week and coming back with even more fire and motivation to swim an unbelievable pair of meets.

Do not forget that Tuesday night we have seven swimmers in the Long Course meet, Wednesday we would like the help of all our older kids in order to run a fun meet for our Preteamers, and our final A meet is at home on Saturday against Potomac Woods. Keep up the great work, every swimmer deserves all the success they have and will achieve.


SWIMMING TIP of the WEEK
In order to swim smooth and effortless Butterfly remember to press your chest so that your head is submerged and leave your hands shallow and outside of your shoulders. This will allow your hips to ride high and not drag in the water and will also set up your hands in the perfect position from which to start your propulsive pull immediately.


WEEK 4 DIVISION F RESULTS: http://mcsl.org/results/2006/week4/Div_F.txt

Don Tucker will also email you meet results if you contact him at DPTuck@aol.com.


MARTHA’S TABLE VISIT
Twenty Martha’s Table 7- and 8-year-old campers joined about 15 Dolphins for a wonderful time at the Bannockburn Pool on Friday. Campers enjoyed swim lessons from their buddies, great water play, and, for some brave souls, a splash into the pool off the diving board. We had a delicious barbecue thanks to Dolphin moms. When the campers left, we heard them wondering when they would get to come again. We look forward to welcoming them again next year and continuing this wonderful relationship with Martha’s Table. Thanks go to all of the Dolphins who so enthusiastically shared their beautiful pool and gave generously of their time and swimming knowledge to make a wonderful outing for the appreciative campers.


TEAM EVENTS FOR THE WEEK AND BEYOND
The annual Blue and Gold Meet, featuring a meet specifically for preteamers, will be held on Wednesday, July 12 at 5:30. Older swimmers are encouraged to help with the meet and other festivities. Dinner and trophies will follow the meet. A surprise event for older swimmers 11 and up will follow dinner.

The July 15 A meet is also a home meet against Potomac Woods. A victory over Potomac Woods would vault the Dolphins into first place. As always, swimmers should be at the pool by 7:50 am for warm-ups, and parents are requested to donate items for the bake sale.

Dolphin Tie-Dye. This most colorful Dolphin activity of the year—and sometimes the messiest—will occur this Friday at the pool. Parents are advised not to have their children dressed in their best clothes. Children should bring plain cotton shirts to dye; remaining supplies will be provided. There will also be a sheet or banner that all swimmers can contribute to decorating. Pizza will also be available. Note that the time of the event has been changed to 5:00. We need parent volunteers to help, as the event can create a lot of mess and get a little out of control. Please call Mary Conaghan at 301-320-2092 to volunteer or 301-775-1662 to offer supplies. We need labels and sharpie pens.

Talent Night, much more than a regular karaoke event, will take place at 7:30 on Monday, July 17. Watch the bulletin board for details.

The annual Pancake Breakfast will be held on Friday, July 21, at 9:30 am at the Bannockburn Clubhouse. All swimmers are invited. Parents, please contact Une Lee ( ujlee@verizon.net ) or Sarah Snider ( sarah.snider@verizon.net ) about contributing food or helping with setup or cleanup.

SPECIAL THANKS
We extend special thanks to Mattie Conaghan, who organized the two Dolphin lunch outings after this past weekend’s meets. The well-satisfied Dolphins appreciate your dining choices, Mattie.


PARENT REMINDERS
Parents are again reminded to notify coaches if their children will not be available to swim an A meet, including the Divisional Meet on July 22 and, for those swimmers who qualified, the Relay All-Star Meet on July 29. This is so that a replacement can be found.


DRINK DONATIONS
Please continue to bring in your case of soda, juice boxes, water or frappucino to the pool as soon as possible. In the next eight days, three events will be held, and the Dolphins excellent swimming abilities are matched by their capacity for eating and drinking.