Classical swims past Revere in opener

If Thursday’s season opener is any indication of things to come for the Lynn Classical swimming team, then the Rams are in for a magical ride this winter season, which started with a 96-79 victory at Revere.
?Everyone came into the short preseason with a tremendous work ethic,” said coach Denise Silva, who has 42 athletes on a roster equally split between girls and boys, ranging from all four classes.
?Our development, as a team, over the past two and a half weeks has been, simply put, amazing, and it certainly paid off tonight,” she added.
Erinn Daly was at the forefront of the visitors success, winning two individual events in addition to helping the Rams? 200-yard medley team (2:09.35) and 400-yard freestyle relay team (4:14.41) prevail as well.
Daly, a sophomore, took first in the 200-yard individual medley (2:25.82) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:04.12).
?She’s extremely dedicated to her craft, swimming year round,” said Silva, who is confident that the example Daly sets will benefit a group of five fellow sophomores who are all new to the sport.
Classical welcomes eight freshman aboard this season, including Sarah Sirois, who accumulated a top score of 159.15 points to finish first in diving on Thursday.
A deep and talented junior class was highly involved in the victory as well.
Kevin Chasse, Allysha Dunnigan and Craig Merdaunt teamed with Daly in the 200-yard medley win, while Simon Kazimierczyk took first in the 200-yard freestyle (2:22.66), which the Rams swept.
Merdaunt teamed with fellow juniors Cameron Marcinko and Mehdi Bakhouch and sophomore Alex Pedro to win the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:50.35.
Dhimo Bitri, one of six seniors on the roster, was part of the exciting 400-yard freestyle relay win along with Chasse, Daly and sophomore Eric Macorri.
The Rams trailed by one full length when Chasse, the anchor, entered the water. He finished just ahead of his Patriots counterpart.
?They certainly have some big shoes to fill,” said Silva of the seniors who are expected to help make up for the loss of Brian Nelson who is now swimming at Bryant University.
Chasse, Dunnigan and Kazimierczyk are the captains along with Drew Daniels (currently injured), Megan McCarthy and Briana Silva.
?They all serve as leaders not just in or around the pool but away from it as well,” said Silva.
?Our team is a lot like a big family. They’ve come up with the mantra that ‘TEAM’ stands for ‘Together Everyone Achieves More. ‘ Whether one of their teammates is finishing first or last, these kids are right there cheering for them.”
Silva also welcomed a new assistant coach to the mix this year in Charlie Rowe who coached at Lynn Tech for the past 18 seasons.
?Together, we make a good team and that’s something I felt from the moment he joined us,” said Silva, who is in her 24thseason at Classical, a long ride she continues to treasure.?I just love the sport and I love the feeling of being able to make a difference in our kids lives. They really charge me up,” she said. “Each and every one of them really appreciates what we, as coaches, teach them. I’m really looking forward to another great year.”