Buffalo Grove begins key phase with victory

Buffalo Grove will find out a lot about its girls swimming team over the next week or so. It started gettting some answers Thursday night as Elk Grove paid a visit - and the answers were good.

The host Bison, using a somewhat experimental lineup designed to get a young team exposure to different events, won the meet 101-77.

"We've got some freshman who are really providing a nice accent to the swimmers we have back from last year," said Buffalo Grove coach Tom Mroz.

Good thing, too, because the Bison lost an all-time great in Erin Rodriguez,whose versatility came in awfully handy for the Bison over the previous four years.

"If you add up all our young swimmers, it kind off makes up for losing somebody like her," said Mroz.

Mroz pointed to efforts from Veronika Jedryka in the 200 IM and 100 fly, Nicky Delaney in the100 fly and Sarah Fasching in the 200 and 500 freestyles as pleasant surprises. Other winners for the Bison included Kristen Perek in the 100 free and Angela Rodriguez in the 50 free - and yes, that's the same Rodriguez family, so maybe things haven't changed all that much at BG.

The Bison host an invitational with Rolling Meadows, Prospect, Cary-Grove and Jacobs on Saturday, and the following Thursday it's a key meet between the Bison and Hersey with likely Mid-Suburban East divisional title implications.

"We'll know a lot more a week from today," Mroz said.

Elk Grove's season is also a work in progress, as numbers are up for coach Dave Toler. He also experimented with his lineup Thursday and liked what he saw.

Christine Baldovin won diving with a score of 159.70 for Elk Grove, and young swimmers like Angelica Ford bode well for the Grenadiers. She placed fourth in both the 50 free and 100 fly, but with times that will be competitive in most MSL duals.

"It's our job as coaches to find out for the girls what they can do," said Toler. "We see certain things in practice, but sometimes you need a meet for the swimmers to see it for themselves."

The Grens are also looking forward the invitational they'll host Saturday, which will include Hoffman Estates, Resurrection, St. Francis and Regina Dominican.

Both teams were relieved to see a safe outcome to a scary moment early in the meet. Elk Grove freshman Monica Siwiecka apparently lost consciousness during the playing of the national anthem and collapsed on the pool deck. Elk Grove's coaching staff reported that she seemed to be doing fine after receiving treatment.