Classical Lynn City Swim Meet champ

To the unfamiliar eye (and ear), Friday evening’s swimming and diving performances at Lynn Tech between the host-school, and city rivals Classical and English might have appeared to be just another event.View Photo GalleryLYNN – The fact of the matter however, is this: The annual meet serves as each team’s last in the regular season and for the participating seniors, it is one last time to perform in the pool that has been a home away from home. This time around, it would be Classical that claimed the city crown, earning 137 points to finish in front of English (122) and Tech (70) respectively.”What a joy this is for our 12 seniors to go out on top,” said Rams coach Denise Silva. “We have kids in tears out there. This was quite the meet; it went back and forth between talented teams. It was great to see the enthusiasm from the competitors and the fans.”Enthusiastic might be an understatement.From the evening’s first event (the 200 medley relay) right through the finale (the 400 freestyle relay), the crowd was downright deafening. Even during the diving portion, when applause was supposed to be held until after the scores were announced, the fans couldn’t help but show their appreciation as soon as a body entered the pool.”The stands were packed tonight which was great to see,” explained Silva. “It’s amazing to have not only families show up but friends and even alumni as well. They really help pick up the efforts of each team and I appreciate their support.”It would be unwise to suspect that results didn’t matter however, as all three teams made quite certain that they were in it to win in.Brian Nelson who was a double-winner in the 200-individual medley (2:27.43) and the 100-freestle (57.27) led the way for Classical who also got victories from Lugui Genao in the 50-freestyle (26.54) and Simon Kazimierczky in the 100-backstroke (1:08.51).The Rams also picked up relay wins in the first event and the 200-freestyle.English stayed, stroke for stroke, with the victors throughout the evening, getting two wins apiece from brothers Mike and Matt Bruno.The former took first in the 200-freestyle (2:05.10) and 500-freestyle (5:50.61), while his sibling swam to victories in the 100-butterfly (1:04.59) and 100-breaststroke (1:18.04). The Bulldogs also got victories from Matt Demirs on the diving board (207.05) and from one of their 400-freestyle relay squad (1:18.04).Despite having no winners, the Tigers preformed admirably, getting solid second place finishes in the 50-freestyle (26.64) and 100-freestyle (59.07) from Jacob Kennedy.Tech coach Brad Tilly, third place aside, was thrilled with the way the night played out.”It’s just an unbelievable event,” he explained. “You just don’t see this type of camaraderie between ‘rival’ teams in many other sports.”He continued, “It was very competitive evening but whether you win or lose takes a back seat to an extent. Yes we each wanted to win, but we all respect one another and enjoy seeing one another succeed.”Silva is of the same sentiment.”What’s really nice about the sport of swimming is that we have friendly rivalries between these three schools. Everybody is happy for everybody. It’s just a wonderful tri-sport for the city of Lynn.”The results are as follows:200 medley relayClassical (1:58.94), Tech (2:09.18), Classical (2:06.96).200 FreeMike Bruno, English (2:05.10), Erinn Daly, Classical (2:08.67); Frances Sewicki (2:17.78)200 medleyBrian Nelson, Classical (2:27.43), Mariana Brontas (2:49.67), Dana Fabrizio, English (3:08.00)50 FreeLuigi Genao, Classical (26.54), Jacob Kennedy, Tech (26.64), Anthony Ong (27.72).DivingMatt Demirs, English (207.05), Bobby Choquette, Classical (159.15), Francisco Fresco (126.10).100 FlyPat Bruno, English (1:04.59), Erinn Daly Classical (1:04.99), Ally Dunnigan, Classical (1:20.49).100 FreeBrian Nelson, Classical (57.27), Jacob Kennedy, Tech (59.07), Jesse Freeman, English (59.27).500 FreeMike Bruno, Lynn English (5:50.61), Danielle Carney, English (6:14.48)