By Dan Shriner
Review Editor
Lake Orion girls? swimming coach Darin Abbasse knows that it is important to have a winning season this year but he is equally concerned about building a winning tradition.
The lady Dragons are well on their way to both.
They recently won the West Bloomfield Invitational for the second consecutive year and earlier in the season they won the Wayne State Invitational, also repeating there
Last season the team had its most successful ever, finishing seventh in the state in Division 1.
Despite losing three excellent swimmers to graduation, Abbasse believes this group can do as well and hopefully better.
‘We want to continue to improve and build a tradition,? he said. ?’The kids so far have done excellent jobs and competed well in those tournaments.?
The team will be led by its senior captains, Kirstyn Abbasse, Nicole Horvath and Abigail Slater, who is a diver.
Kirstyn is seeking to compete, as have others from Lake Orion, at the college level next year. She has competed at the national level and done well.
She finished seventh last year in the state in the 200-yard freestyle and eighth in the 500 freestyle. Her sister, freshman Claire Abbasse, has already qualified for the state competition with her strong times in freestyle events.
They are the daughters of the coach.
Horvath is a senior freestyle and breaststroke specialist and Abbasse said she has shown improvement each week.
Slater leads the team’s divers, which also include Colleen Campbell, a sophomore, who has been very strong this season.
Last season, Lake Orion finished behind Birmingham Seaholm in the OAA Red Division.
‘Our program is improving but Seaholm is the team to beat,? Abbasse said. ‘We can compete with them and hopefully do well. ?
Rochester Adams is also one of the top teams in the OAA Red.
But, he said, the Dragons are competitive against both squads.
He said there are several very good swimmers that will be counted on this year and to build on a tradition.
Sarah Hennings, was a state qualifier , finishing eighth in the state in the 100 butterfly. Juniors Amanda Keller and Zoe Quinn and sophomore Eliana Ritt, freshman Emily Deener will all be counted on to contribute to the Dragon’s success.
Abbasse said foreign exchange student Katerine Dziedzic will bring depth to the middle distance freestyle events.
‘We believe we’re in good shape. We just want to keep improving, working hard in practice and doing the right things,? he said.