Saint Andrew's Swimming and Diving Blog
News and notes from the Saint Andrew's Swimming and Diving High School and Club Team coached by Sid Cassidy in Boca Raton, Florida

It was an awesome trio of days ... the heat was on and so were our best 14 and under age group swimmers. Led by 12-year old Courtney Bober - who contributed 32 individual team points and a victory in the girls 11-12 200 backstroke, our youngsters certainly closed out their long course season in style. Quinn Cassidy and Megan Moroney, both swimming abbreviated schedules with the impending Southern Zone Meet in Atlanta next week , contributed some big points as well. Quinn captured two events - the 100 meter free in impressive fashion - 55.24 - and he also defended his 50-meter breaststroke title.

Daniel Schneiderman and Kyle Tatton made repeated trips to the Championship Final Heat for our boys team and both served notice that they are for real. Breaking out on the girls side were three Silver Group swimmers who all stepped up to swim in the Big Finals for the first time at a meet of this caliber. Brenna Shipman, Brinton Coombs (twice) and Julianna Carbone (three times) joined Courtney as finalists and truly delivered some inspirational performances.
Perhaps most thrilling were our young relay swimmers who abounded with enthusiasm and pulled off some inspiring acts of their own. It was wonderful to hear the crowd of SAS parents cheering as a group clad in team colors. Every one of our young athletes felt that love and support and there can be no question what direction this team is headed in.
Links to results are below, but make sure you take the time to peruse some of the great photos as well .... and let me Congratulate all of our swimmers with a special nod to our Silver group and the leadership of Coach John Shipman. It was an honor to be on hand for such a barrage of best times but even more rewarding was sitting next to Coach John and listening to him impart his words of wisdom to his charges .... a whole lotta learning going on! Thanks Coach - Enjoy some fun days and I know we will gear up those Silver swimmers again in August!
Coach Sid

Division Championships Recap

By Coach John Shipman

The weather was hot and so were the swims! Congratulations to all of our swimmers on a very successful weekend of racing. Drops in time were as thick as the humidity. We were well represented at finals on all three nights. Kudos to our first place finishers: Courtney in the 1500 FR, Shanna in the 400 FR, Julianna in the 400 IM, Chelsea in the 200 BR and Brenna in the 50 BR. 20 new JO cuts were obtained as well as a multitude of best times. Smiles were abundant which is just what we like to see. Great racing!

CORAL SPRINGS JUNE INVITATIONAL

By Coach Sid Cassidy

Saint Andrew’s finishes as runner-ups in Coral Springs Invitational


With a great team performance, Saint Andrew’s Swimming scored 362 points and captured the runner-up team award in the 2010 Coral Springs International Invitational Swim Meet. Our young athletes scored in every age division and surprised many of the larger teams to finish second behind the new super power combined team of South Florida AC (formerly Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines Comets). Coach Sid Cassidy said: “We had a very balanced effort and I should note that I was particularly impressed by some great drops by many of our Silver swimmers. Coach John Shipman had those young guns ready to fire and it made for a really fun meet”

The Scots were paced by rising sophomore Quinn Cassidy who set a Florida Gold Coast Record for the 13-14 year-old boys 100 meter breaststroke 1:08.76. Quinn, posted six victories, led all SAS scorers with 61 points, and turned in an impressive 1:03.92 in winning the 100 backstroke. Megan Moroney dominated the 13-14 girls events, winning five events, and notched some outstanding swims including the 200IM (2:26.07), 100 back (1:07.34) and 100 fly (1:04.73). Other notable performances of the weekend included: Brinton Coombs, who posted a victory in the 11-12 girls 50-meter breaststroke (38.52); Daniel Schneiderman, who had a bevy of personal bests and contributed thirty-eight points on the way to a runner-up high point award; Kyle Tatton, who had some big drops and finaled in four events to earn twenty points for his efforts; and the 15-18 200 Medley Relay Team of Genevieve Aube, Holli Pisarski, Amanda King and Hannah Coombs who won that event in 2:09.72.

Complete results are available here.

Results for SAS swimmers available here.


Team Scores:

1. South Florida Aquatic Club 1506.5

2. Saint Andrew's Swimming 362

3. Pine Crest Swimming 343.5

4. Davie Nadadores 342

5. Plantation Swim Team 271

6. Lauderhill Swim Team 229

7. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden 220

8. Bermuda 126

9. Heritage Aquatic Team 100.5

10. Lake Lytal Lightning 99

11. AK Sharks 89

12. Bulado Swimming Club 53

13. Wahoos of Wellington 50

14. Hialeah Swim Club 45

15. Miami Beach Seahawks 37

16. SwimFast 30

17. Equipo de Bayamon 23

18. YMCA of Broward County 21

19. Midtown Weston Aquatics 19

20. Martin County Aquatics 14

21. Lighthouse Point Aquatic Club 4

Long Course Kick Off

By Coach Sid Cassidy

Congratulations to All the athletes and parents who made the weekend trek to Islamorada to kick off the ling course season. A special thanks to the coaches for handling my duties there as I attended to my Aquatic Director role supervising our water polo teams at the FHSAA State Championships - a memorable weekend that saw the Scots bring home the boys title - and we now hope to see a few of those aquatic athletes returning to club swimming as we continue into the long course season.

I also want to thank Kerry Shipman for the great pictures! Check out the Gallery... outstanding!
Some key dates upcoming:
May 14-16 IMX Invitational Meet - Plantation
May 23rd Team Banquet at Roberts Theater - 4:30pm
May 29 - Lake Lytal Developmental Meet (Short Course)
June 5/6 - Long Course Invitational at Pompano Beach

By Coach Sid Cassidy

SAS finishes Fourth in 2010 Junior Olympics

Megan Moroney sets 6 records in 4 events

and finishes with seven gold medals



At the 2010 Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympic Championships held last weekend in Coral Springs, Saint Andrew’s finished in fourth place overall for the teams’ highest rank ever. The Scots were led by 7th-grader Megan Moroney who went a perfect seven for seven in the gold medal department and managed to break six records in four events. Megan accomplished this by setting two records in her 50-yard backstroke win and two records in the 100-yard IM. Her 26.86 backstroke bettered the Florida Gold Coast record (best time ever accomplished by an FGC swimmer in any competition) and equaled the FGC Open record (best time ever accomplished by any swimmer while competing in an FGC event). She snapped both records in the 100 Individual Medley as well posting a stellar 59.27. In addition, she set a Florida Gold Coast record winning the 100 yard butterfly in 56.24, which in turn qualified her for the USA Swimming Summer Junior National Meet scheduled next August in Irvine, California. Her 50-yard fly victory (26.22) surpassed the FGC Open record in that event. Just for good measure, Megan added victories in the 200 free (1:56.22); 100 back (57.84); 100 IM (59.27) and 200 fly (2:07.82). Megan teamed with Courtney Bober, Chelsea Scuderi, Brinton Coombs and Julianna Carbone to sweep the 11-12 girls relay events in commanding fashion as the same five girls combined to capture the team high point award for that division. Of special note, one week earlier in USA Swimming’s Grand Prix Meet at the University of Texas Megan began her most recent assault on the LSC record book by bettering Lauren Driscoll’s mark in the 200-yard backstroke with an outstanding 2:04.56.

Leading the way for the boys’ team was freshman Quinn Cassidy who completed his effort with five golds and two silvers and some outstanding performances of his own. Quinn grabbed gold medals in the 13-14 boys 200 back (1:55.97); 50 free (21.88); 100 back (53.92); 50 breast (27.74) and the 400IM (4:08.23). Sixth-grade student Tanner Fuller scored a bevy of points for the Scots and brought home the gold in the 11-12 boys 400-yard IM with a fine 4:54.34 performance. There were a multitude of best times and so many swimmers contributed with points, positive attitudes and a true team atmosphere. It was great to see so many SAS smiling faces at Finals to cheer on teammates!

Attached you can view a file with all swimmers results, splits, places and improvements. I want to extend congratulations to all athletes and especially to Coach John Shipman for his outstanding tutelage of the Silver group that comprised the bulk of our Junior Olympians at this great Championship event. Thanks to all and on to the All-Star Meet! Coach Sid



2010 Florida Gold Coast Junior Olympic Final Standings

1. Lake Lytal Lighting 692

2. Pine Crest Swimming 679.5

3. Fort Lauderdale Aquatics 540

4. Saint Andrew's Swimming 492

5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami 469

6. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden 424.5

7. Miami Dade County Aquatic Club 380

8. Rockway Swimming Team 363

9. Plantation Swim Team 354

10. Jupiter Dragons Swim Team 299

11. Broward Aquatics 273

12. Heritage Aquatic Team 219.5

13. AK Sharks 171

14. City Of Hialeah Swim Team 158

15. North Palm Beach Swim Club 116

16. Miami Swimming 110.5

17. Florida Keys Swim Club 92

18. Lauderhill Swim Team 86

19. Atlantis Swimming Club 55

20. Miami Beach Seahawks 46

21. SwimFast 43

22. North Miami Swim Team 42.5

23. Midtown Weston Aquatics 40

24. Devilray's Swim Club 36

25. YMCA of South Palm Beach 21

26. Davie Nadadores Swim Team 13

27. Swim Gym Swim Team 10

28. Flying Fish Swim Club 9

29. Big Gator 4

30. Lighthouse Point Aquatic Club 3

31. Martin County Aquatics 2

2010 Junior Olympic Championships

By Coach Sid Cassidy

GREAT MEET FOR SAS ..... Finished 4th overall (see Top 15 below) - highest ever! Great job by ALL! Congrats to Lake Lytal ....
Full report coming out soon including ALL-STAR ANNOUNCEMENT.


 1. Lake Lytal Lighting       692   
 2. Pine Crest Swimming       679.5   
 3. Fort Lauderdale Aquatics     540    
 4. SAINT ANDREW'S SWIMMING       492   
 5. Metro Aquatic Club of Miami    469   
 6. Blue Marlins Of Hialeah Garden     424.5   
 7. Miami Dade County Aquatics      380  
 8. Rockway Swimming Team      363  
 10. Plantation Swim Team               354   
 9. Jupiter Dragons Swim Team           299  
 10. Broward Aquatics                   273  
 11. Heritage Aquatic Team            219.5  
 12. AK Sharks                          171  
 13. City Of Hialeah Storm Swim Tea     158  
 14. North Palm Beach Swim Club         116  
 15. Miami Swimming                   110.5 



Link to results: http://www.fgcswim.org/

THANKSGIVING

By Coach Sid Cassidy

Just a quick note to wish all of our swimmers and families a happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving holiday! Gold swimmers will train at the pool from 8-11am Friday and Saturday and resume Monday with our special Gold team meeting at 4pm in Schmidt 110.

Also of note our SAS School Swimming and Diving Awards have been re-scheduled and will now be in the Seigel Room on campus this Wednesday, December 2 at 5:30pm.

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving."
~ W. T. Purkiser