THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 4, 1995 TAG: 9508020173
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
ON JULY 22, the Great Bridge Piranhas swim team notched a spectacular 100-point win over the Little Neck Tidal Waves - long the area's dominant force in swimming - in the final week of the Virginia Beach Swim League's regular season. It was Little Neck's first loss in 12 years.
When the Dolphin Division meet kicked off last Saturday at the Great Bridge Swim and Racquet Club, berths in the VBSL All-Star meet weren't the only things at stake. The Piranhas wanted a second chance to prove that they are the team to beat.
``We've waited to beat (Little Neck) for so long,'' said Josh Verdin, a Great Bridge swimmer for the past 10 years. ``We felt like this year was the year.''
The Piranhas won the days' first event - the 6-under mixed 100 free relay - and never trailed, claiming the Dolphin Division title with 493.5 points.
In Saturday's final event - the 18-under mixed 200 medley relay - Great Bridge won by a large margin but was disqualified because of an early start on an exchange. Club Brittany was given the 14 points for first place, enough to edge Little Neck for second place by two points, 334-332.
Great Bridge ``has a great team and a lot of great swimmers. We had a lot of swimmers move up,'' said Little Neck president Tom Sullivan. ``We've just nipped them in the last few years. . . ''
Fortunes have reversed for Great Bridge and Little Neck in the past few seasons. The Tidal Waves have seen many of their best swimmers move out of the league, while some have opted not to swim for the club. The Piranhas are widely regarded as the deepest team in the VBSL and have legions of talented swimmers, especially in the older levels.
``We have bigger size now,'' said Great Bridge coach Krissy Kirkman. ``Before, they were good, we just didn't have many of them.''
Little Neck's boys 14-under 200 free relay team set the only VBSL record of the day, turning in the first time under two minutes in league history. The team of Danny Mazur, Mark Dancigers, Paul McGraw and Gary Sharpe edged Great Bridge by four-tenths of a second. The Piranhas' foursome of Lee Brittan, David Garza, Eric Baur and Jonathan Todd also turned in what would have been a record-setting time.
The VBSL All-Star meet will be at Little Neck Swim and Racquet Club in Virginia Beach Saturday at 8 a.m. The top 12 swimmers in each event were seeded based on times in the four divisional meets. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Josh Verdin, who swims for the Great Bridge Piranhas, placed second
in the individual medley and first in the backstroke.
by CNB