Columbia Boys and Girls Swim Preview

The Columbia girls swimming team is hoping that they can keep the Cougar magic going. Last winter, the boys swim team went 6-4, securing their first winning season in 12 years. This past fall season, the Columbia girls soccer team made the playoffs for the first time in a dozen years. Most notably, the CHS football team qualified for states for the first time since 1982.

It has been a year of turnarounds for Columbia athletics programs. Has the time now come for the girls swimming team?

Last season, the girls finished with a 2-7-1 record. They're expecting much better this time around, under new head coach Carly Orpurt, who is also head of the boys team.

"It's fun because you can bring the two teams together now. They've always been so divided," Orpurt said. "There's more team camaraderie now."

"I think it's going to be a big change because our practices have been a lot harder," said co-captain Kayla Spinelli. "I think it will show in the meets."

The first thing that will be different this season is familiarity. As part of the state's athletic conference realignment, the swimmers have relocated to the Super Essex Conference, American Division. There will be many new opponents, a lot of unfamiliar faces and a blank slate.

The girls will be led by captains Lizzy Kling, Sarah Carragher, Spinelli and Kate Donatelli. Junior Priya Duvvuri, coming off of a spectacular summer swim season, is expected to also be a major point getter for the girls. There is also optimism about some of the other upcoming underclassmen.

"We have a lot of really exciting new talent in the freshmen class that we weren't expecting," Donatelli said.

Goal number one for the local girls this season is to finish with a better record than they did last season and hope for .500. Qualifying for states, while not out of the question, will be very difficult for the Cougar girls this season.

"It's really a rebuilding year," Orpurt said. "I would like to see it happen, but we've really got a lot of work to do."

For the boys, they're ready for the next step: qualifying for the state sectional playoffs. They have returning All-American and co-captain Henry Scott in the 100 meter fly, as well as captains Joe Deraville, Nick Porter and Venkatesh Duvvuri. There's a lot of optimism surrounding a boys team which lost just one senior a season ago, and will also be the benefactors of being unknown.

Deraville competed in the first playoff game of his high school career in the fall as a member of the Columbia football team. The senior said that he's looking forward to continuing the trend this winter and is excited about the prospect of playing new opponents.

"I think that it's very possible with all of the seniors returning. We do have a good chance," he said, of making the sectionals. "I'm definitely excited about being able to go against new teams. We'll have more fair meets than we did last year."

While the boys will be depending on their captains for lots of points, according to Scott, another big contributor this season will be Andrew Voorhees.

"He has always been one of our point getters," Scott said. "This year he's on the brink of having an explosive improvement."

For both teams, the season kicks off on Monday, December 14, at home against Livingston at 4 p.m.

"I'm expecting good swimming out of both teams," Orpurt said. "But we're in a brand new conference, so I don't know what to expect."