Redwings won't let lack of pool get them down

The Benet girls swimming team's T-Shirt says it all. No Pool (on the front), No Problem (on the back).

That sums up the spirit of this year's Redwings, who are putting together a successful season despite having to overcome obstacles because they don't have a home pool for either practices or meets.

While they are able to go on the road for all their meets and invitationals, practice is another and more complicated story.

Because the Redwings' usual home pool at Benedictine University, right across Maple Avenue in Lisle, is closed for repairs, coach Nicole Kothe meets the 19 varsity swimmers who carpool to practice, five days a week, at the Esplanade Fitness Center in Downers Grove. The junior varsity under coach Laura Kozlowski practices at the Indian Boundary YMCA in Downers Grove, so the two coaches are always at different locations and the full team never works together.

"The biggest issue is that the varsity and the JV don't get as close as they want to be," Kothe said. "They don't get to share experiences and they would all like to have the constant camaraderie of the whole team."

"It takes 15-20 minutes to get to practice from school on a good day," junior Cat Cortesio said. "But there's often heavy traffic on Route 53 or Ogden Avenue, and that cuts into our practice time."

While the Redwings appreciate Esplanade's hospitality, the pool is shallow, it has only four lanes, and there are no starting blocks.

The lanes are not wide enough to accommodate all the swimmers, thus the girls are always bumping into each other, and the stroke swimmers in the end lanes often hit the walls on the sides of the pool.

"It gets pretty crowded and it's hard to do our strokes the right way," Cortesio said.

The Redwings do their dry-land training three afternoons a week on a racquetball court.

And that's not all.

Morning workouts take place once a week each at the Naperville YMCA and at Edward Health and Fitness Center in Lisle.

On Saturdays, if there's no meet scheduled, other high schools such as Naperville North, Naperville Central and Hinsdale South are generous enough to offer their facilities to the Redwings when they're available.

"When we swim at the high school pools they're deeper and we're not used to that," Cortesio said, "so it throws off our timing. You can go farther underwater in a deeper pool."

Despite the inconveniences and adversity, the Redwings, who feature five returning state qualifiers and an outstanding freshman class that includes seven varsity swimmers, are having a fine year.

"The girls are being great about it," Kothe said. "They never complain or get bogged down in self-pity. They're getting their yardage in and they're getting to work on the finer points like starts and turns at the high school pools and at meets and weekend invites. Everyone is getting faster, and our expectations are still high for the postseason."

"The fact that we have to travel long distances is bringing a lot of the varsity swimmers closer together," Cortesio said. "It gives us more time to bond. And we're not taking the situation too seriously. We're probably supporting each other more and we have a positive attitude that carries over in the way we compete. We're all fighting this together. As our shirt says: 'No pool, no problem.' "

The beat goes on at Naperville Central: Senior Erin Lamb has picked up the leadership torch from the graduated state champion Amy Prestinario after Prestinario followed Kelly McNichols' example as the Redhawks' leader and inspiration.

Lamb, a co-captain, qualified for state in both the 200 (she finished ninth) and 100 freestyle and swam on both Redhawks' freestyle relays. She is looking for even better results this year.

"We will be disappointed if we don't get two top sixes from her," said Naperville Central coach Jon Carlson. "She's matured greatly and as far as training goes she's in a class by herself."

And, according to Carlson, Lamb is taking a much more assertive stance as a team leader.

"She's not afraid to get up and talk in a meeting," Carlson said. "At practice she's a constant encourager and cheerleader to the girls around her."

Lamb remembers her freshman year when seniors McNichols and Sarah Pucci took her under their wings, and she also appreciates the friendship, guidance and good example offered by Prestinario the past three years. In her senior year Lamb is trying to pay these good feelings forward.

"They all worked so hard and had a mental toughness and strength," Lamb said. "I really want to show that kind of leadership to this year's team. Swimming has given me so much confidence and a lot of opportunities. It's fun being the oldest on the team, knowing how to prepare for hard days and sharing my knowledge with my teammates. The main thing is for us to have fun and enjoy the high school season."

Dunn just getting started: West Chicago coach Nick Parry has no doubt that at her current rate of improvement, Wildcats sophomore Kelly Dunn will be one of the top swimmers in Illinois by her senior year.

Dunn, a state qualifier last year, won both the 100 backstroke and 200 freestyle races at the recent Wildcats Invitational. And she anchored the 200 free relay, coming from behind to defeat such established teams as Rosary, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley.

"Kelly is a humble kid," Parry said. "But she's competitive. If we need her to chase down someone in a relay, she has no trouble doing it. She uses her 5-foot-11 height to full advantage, and her long arms can out-touch opponents."

"I've been working a lot harder in practice and dropping times in all my races," Dunn said. "I'm swimming better times than I did at the end of last year. I would like to finish top 12 in both races, and I have high hopes that we can qualify a relay team as well."

Dunn believes the hard work is paying off for the entire team.

"We know we can compete and other teams are starting to notice us," she said.

"Last year was a big breakout year for Kelly," Parry said. "And she worked hard in the off-season to prepare for her sophomore year. This year's state meet will be important to her. If she does well, she's really someone to keep your eye on for her junior and senior years."