Three-peat in their grasp

Like animals into the ark, recent girls state swimming and diving champions have taken the championship trophy two-by-two.

Since 2000, New Trier has a pair of titles, Naperville Central has won twice and reigning champion Rosary has two first place trophies behind glass on Edgelawn Ave. in Aurora.

But what about that elusive third - the point when "consecutive" gets changed to "in a row?" That hasn't happened since St. Charles won the last of its six straight titles in 1999.

Is this the year? Will Rosary get its three-peat? Are the Beads staying awake at night thinking about it?

The answer to the first two questions is a resounding "no one knows." But to the third question, Rosary has a ready reply.

"We don't think about it," Beads coach Bill Schalz said. "You think about enjoying the journey and having fun with it."

Make no mistake, Rosary wants to be the team that grabs the title and takes the trophy for a celebratory swim at Evanston High School in the late afternoon of Nov. 22. But when asked if she is counting the days until the end of the season, Beads senior Kally Fayhee wasn't even sure which dates the state meet ran this year.

"I was just looking at the calendar, and I think I know the weekend," Fayhee said. "But it's not on our season schedule. As soon as you think the No. 1 team is you - then you've completely jinxed yourself."

Both Fayhee and Schalz used nearly identical terminology to describe the reality that other teams will target Rosary throughout the season. They are, in everyone's eyes, the team to beat.

"We know we have a huge bull's-eye on our backs," Fayhee said. "But we're trying to take it one step at a time, one practice, one meet and one invitational at a time. When state comes, we'll be ready and we'll take that at that time too."

Rosary's run of success began in 1998, when the Beads finished fifth. Since that time, they have never been out of the Top 5 - finishing second three times and third twice.

The ingredients to Rosary's success are there for all to see. St. Charles North coach Rob Rooney sees all those pieces coming together for the Beads.

"There are a lot of things that go into great programs," Rooney said. "You've got to have a group of kids who want to make a commitment and they're fortunate to have that. You have to have some luck. A lot of people don't want to believe that, but if you look at every state championship, it's there. Five teams could have won the boys title (in February), and Neuqua had all the guys in the pool and they all believed and got it done.

"There is also no other team out there who can go with (Rosary). That's the luck side of it. They have put this together and it's a great thing for swimming and a great thing for swimming in the far western suburbs."

Rooney repeated the work ethic aspect to every successful team he has seen, and his belief that this separates Rosary from the pack. A good portion of that comes from Schalz.

"He's taught us a lot of good lessons in the pool - as well as a lot of good lessons out of the pool," Fayhee said. "We have a good work ethic. We cheer for our team. We know we need to keep our heads up if you have a bad race - and that can relate to anything in life."

High school swim meets open with the 200-yard medley relay. Each leg of the relay has a swimmer competing in a different stroke - and each swimmer moves 50 yards before giving way to the next swimmer.

At the state meet, that event has great importance. Not only is it the first race of the meet, but it also involves four swimmers who are likely to swim again throughout the meet in their stroke specialties.

It is an event in which Rosary has excelled in recently. The Beats have won four of the last 10 medley relays, finished second in two further state meets and only once finished below fourth.

Still, disappointment in that race does not have to derail an entire state meet, and the Beads are well aware of that when they mentally prepare. This microcosm of the team's thought process shows one small way in which they excel in the biggest meets.

"There are definitely ups and downs at the state meet, and those are a huge part of the mental aspect of the meet," Fayhee said. "(Schalz has) always said the medley relay sets the tone for the entire meet. That's really correct. But if you have a bad race, you have to get up and be smiling for your team so they don't get down. If you go in there and have a bad 200 free, you have to get out and be smiling because you don't want the person swimming the 200 IM to see that and be upset. It's a chain reaction."

Another aspect to any team's success is the closeness of the swimmers on the squad. By the time the state meet comes, only a handful are actually competing in the water. But there are alternates who get to be on-deck cheering for their teammates and there are more who fill the cramped bleachers. The deafening noise at the state meet comes from all forms of fans, but there must be a core of devoted teammates who are willing to cheer on their mates despite not being in the water.

That bonding process takes place throughout the year, when the entire team competes. And at Rosary, there isn't a "state team" and the rest of the team - there is one large string of Beads yelling their heads off for each other.

This year, a quartet of strong freshmen has been added to the mix of a team that is back mostly intact from its 2007 title. There are teams that have cliques - sometimes multiple cliques - and these only serve to create fractures that keep the team from achieving group goals. Rosary is one unified group already, even with the infusion of freshman talent.

"It's already been a really fun season," Rosary senior Kara Savegnago said. "We've got some really great freshmen. I've been looking forward to this year. When you're a freshman, you look at the seniors and what they do. Now I'm the senior and it's pretty cool to be a part of this team."

Beyond the meets, that bonding takes place in practice. Fayhee said the Beads started this season with what would have been a midseason workout a year ago. To get through those hard practices, you need help from your friends.

"It's really awesome that way," Savegnago said. "(Fayhee) and Elisabeth (Tavierne) are some of my best friends. We get along really well so it's a lot of fun. We all just work together. We'll be in practice and scream out to each other 'halfway' or 'almost done.'"

Add all these things together, and Rosary will certainly be one of the major players in Evanston in November.

"I'm really confident that we can do awesome at state," Savegnago said. "I'm not going to say that we're going to win again. But I know we have an awesome chance with all the freshmen. I think this is one of the best teams we've ever had."

And even if the state meet's dates aren't on the team's schedule, Rosary's team knows the meet is coming and they know what they want to do when it takes place.

"I think it's everybody's dream - everyone who swims and the other sports too - to win the state championship," Fayhee said. "We've been fortunate enough to have a great mindset and a great unity that has allowed us to win two state championships. We're definitely going to be trying to get the three-peat, even though we know it's not guaranteed and we know it's going to take a lot of hard work."