Girls swimming / Northwest scouting report
Scouting the girls swimming and diving state meet
at New Trier High SchoolFriday#146;s preliminaries: Diving begins at 9 a.m.; swimming begins at 3:30 p.m.
Saturday#146;s finals: Swimming begins at 1 p.m., with a break after the 50-yard freestyle for diving.
Big picture
New Trier snapped Rosary#146;s four-year winning streak last season, with Loyola placing second. The Trevians are probably favored to win again, but expect Rosary, which placed third last year, to have a say in that.
Glenbrook South junior Olivia Smoliga is poised to break state records in the 50 and 100 freestyles, and Lake Forest senior Rachel Stoehr is within range of the 500 free state record.
Local focus
Barrington has an impressive group here; even so, cracking the top 10 would be a tall order. The Fillies have two relays, Erika Elliott in the 50 and 100 freestyles, Mekenna Scheitlin in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke and Danielle Elliott in the 500 freestyle as their main point-scoring opportunities. Olivia Hoffman (200 IM, 100 fly) and Justine Kaszynski (100 fly) delivered nice sectional swims to extend their seasons.
Fremd freshman Erica King had the third-best state qualifying time in the 500 free, confirming coach Andrew Kittrell#146;s belief that her best swim could be a point-scoring effort at state. King will also swim the 200 free. Junior Breanna Anderson is in the middle of the pack of qualifiers in her 50 and 100 freestyles; she#146;ll have legs on both freestyle relays for the Vikings along with King and seniors Amy McEllen and Sam Matuszewski. Sisters Stephanie and Elizabeth Uhrich both qualified in diving, and junior Kayleen Samuels competes in the 100 backstroke.
Hersey#146;s Amanda Petro qualified with the sixth-best 200 free effort and the eighth-best time in the 100 free #8212; she#146;s well-positioned to score points in both. Petro will also compete with the Huskies#146; 400 free relay with Erin Horne, Kayla Dale and Karolina Szymaszek.
Buffalo Grove junior Veronika Jedryka was a two-time state qualifier in the 500 free, but this year she#146;s moved to shorter races and advanced with flying colors in the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke. She#146;s seeded 11th in the 100 free and 20th in the 100 back, and another good time drop from her could mean points for the Bison. The Bison will also have Sara Fasching in the 100 back, and both freestyle relays with Fasching, Jedryka, Callie Fasching and Margaret Lotzer.
Palatine has a double entrant in sophomore Laura Mayer (200 IM, 100 fly), plus senior Nicole Huffman (100 back) and soph Amy Zahn (100 fly) as well as senior diver Stephanie Hamer.
Conant freshman Allison Cicero gets a chance to race twice, in the 200 and 100 freestyles.
Prospect senior Jessica Cavaiani roared to the eighth-fastest 100 breaststroke effort in sectionals and is confident she has a faster swim left. She#146;ll be joined by freshman diver Dana Liva, the MSL champ who qualified with an at-large berth. Elk Grove will be represented by senior diver Natalie Przybylski, who hit 384.05 at sectional and earned an at-large berth.