Penguins Capture PSAL Championship

Freshman Stella Oh dives off her starting block, being the last swimmer in her 200-yard freestyle medley group. The competitors before her have given her a slight lead, and she is halfway across the 25-yard long pool when the last swimmer from the Brooklyn Technical High School medley group springs into the water. Oh darts through the water and maintains her lead over the rival swimmer for 150 yards. On the last lap, Oh begins to slow down and the opposing swimmer hastens her pace. However, Oh out-touches the opposing swimmer by less than 0.4 seconds, giving Stuyvesant’s girls’ swimming team, the Penguins, a huge boost of six points to their total score. The Penguins ultimately triumph over the Brooklyn Technical High School Engineers by a significant margin of 59-42 in the championship meet.

The Penguins were once again dominant in the Bronx/Manhattan League, finishing the regular season as the top team in the league with a 10-0 record. Additionally, they enjoyed victories against rivals such as Hunter College High School and Bronx Science High School by large margins of 58-41 and 63-39, respectively.

The team had a new coach this year: physical education teacher Silvana Choy taking over the role of former head coach Peter Bologna as a result of his new position as Athletic Director.

The Penguins truly believe that Coach Choy has been excellent and has played a major part in their success. “[Coach Choy] definitely benefitted the team a lot by making every practice truly count and was even willing to come in on Saturdays just so that we could get a few more practices in [...] The season has been really great with her, and while I'm sure that the returning girls miss Coach Bologna, we've all opened up to Coach Choy and she's truly become part of the team,” senior and co-captain Luola Chen said.

Choy was quickly accepted by the swimmers and led the team to yet another undefeated regular season and championship. She attributes much of her success to how the captains helped her transition into her role as coach by instilling discipline into the younger swimmers and making sure they improve with every opportunity. “They organize drylands and lead lanes in practice on a daily basis [and] are solid leaders,” Choy said.

The other major obstacle the Penguins faced was the fact that there were only five seniors on the team. The results have been quite different, however, with many of the underclassmen on the team emerging as the Penguins’ top swimmers. Sophomore Emma Lee, who was voted MVP of the team as a freshman, played a crucial part in the team’s success. Lee finished first in every race she competed in this year, often lapping opponents. In the championship meet against Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday, November 7, Lee performed exceptionally well, finishing first in every event she participated in. This included two individual events (the 50 and 100-yard freestyle) as well as the 200-yard freestyle medley where she had the fastest time in her group. Another rising star was sophomore Arielle Aney who took home first or second place in every event she swam in this year. Aney also performed outstandingly against Brooklyn Technical High School, finishing first in the 200-yard freestyle and having the fastest time in her 400-yard freestyle medley group.

With many dominant underclassmen swimmers on the team, the Penguins once again had their eyes set on a championship run. Last year, the Penguins advanced to the championship round with a strong victory over Townsend Harris but fell short against Brooklyn Technical High School in the final meet. This year, they once again had a strong showing against Townsend Harris, winning 58-42, and got payback for last year’s loss with a decisive victory over Brooklyn Tech. “It felt great getting such a huge victory over [Brooklyn Technical High School]. We were coming off of an undefeated season last year, so the loss in the championship was really devastating to us. The way we bounced back this year, with a new coach and everything, was amazing, and I have no doubt that we’re capable of another championship next year as well,” junior Sasha Spajic said.

This need for retribution against Brooklyn Technical High School almost seemed to drive the Penguins to have such dominant performances throughout the year and ultimately capture the title.

With a returning core of outstanding swimmers as well as an effective coach, there is little reason to believe that the Penguins aren’t capable of defending their championship.“My goals for the team are for the girls to improve their stroke technique and their times. It's not about the results, it's about the process. If we continue to improve, the results will take care of themselves,” Coach Choy said.