Geyanne Lui heard all the stories about the Stuyvesant swimming team’s city championship last season when she entered the Manhattan school in September.
She was told about how they did it without a pool to call their own because work was being done to the one on campus. Instead the team traveled constantly over the Brooklyn Bridge to stay in shape and swam at Brooklyn Tech, Fort Hamilton and NYU among other places. It all ended with a victory over power Townsend Harris in the PSAL city final.
“We traveled to all five boroughs to swim, I think, last year,” second-year Stuyvesant coach Kristen Sabala said.
This season the Penguins got their pool back. It meant just one thing to the freshman Lui.
“Since they won last year and they didn’t have a pool,” she said, “this year we had a pool, so we had to win.”
Lui helped her team do just that. She won the 200-yard individual medley in a time of 2:21.71 and the 500 freestyle in 5:41.63 to help No. 1 Stuyvesant claim its second straight title with a 59-42 win over No. 2 Brooklyn Tech in the PSAL girls swimming and diving final at Lehman College Tuesday. She was also a member of the winning 200 free relay (1:46.27).
“It’s definitely something to be proud of,” junior Ashley Qian said. … “Both years I think we were really, really nervous.”
She helped put a little calm in her team by winning the 100 butterfly in a school record time of 1:01.91, according to Sabala. Qian already owns the record in the 100 backstroke (1:01.01). She won the event Tuesday in a time of 1:02.09.
The difference in the meet was Stuyvesant picking up all seven diving points. Brooklyn Tech did not have a diver compete, after having just one diver last season. The ability to practice off the springboard was a byproduct of having its pool back. Also Stuyvesant’s depth and balance saw them have swimmers or relays finish in two of the top three spots in nine of the 11 races.
“I think we balanced it out really, really well,” Qian said. “We really don’t have that talented swimmer like (Annie) Zhu, but we are a very well-rounded team.”
Added Brooklyn Tech coach Maureen O’Hara: “I couldn’t get that third place point I was dying for.”
Zhu, who won the state title in the 100 breaststroke last weekend, was sensational for Brooklyn Tech, which was searching for its first title since 1992. The sophomore won the 100 free in 52.55, the 100 backstroke in 1:05.00 and was a member of the winning 400 free (3:52.45) and 200 medley (1:54.93) relays. Teammate Sarah Bouzarouata, a junior, won the 50 free in 25.54.
“We are not disappointed,” Bouzaroutata said. “We made history and now we have a bigger goal for next year.”
The goal remains the same for Stuyvesant, which loses seven seniors, including Emma Dries, Jennifer Ko, Stephanie Jou and diver Alyssa Yeo. The Penguins are beginning to establish themselves as the new PSAL swimming power.
“It just means we have to keep on doing it and keep on winning,” Qian said. “We can’t let this just die out.”