NORTH ADAMS -- It could be a difficult season for the Hoosac Valley boys' swim team. But don't expect them to complain any time soon.
With just six members on the roster, the Hurricanes' chances of winning a lot of meets are slim. In the past three meets, only five Hurricanes have been available to jump into the pool due to various reasons. Trevor Ciempa missed Tuesday's meet due to an illness.
"It's been hard with just five guys so far," Mike DiSanti said following a meet against Mount Anthony last week. "But we manage. We have a lot of support from the team, so that helps."
With two wins in the early part of the season, the Hurricanes have already won twice as many meets as they did last season. DiSanti and Keith Pero are the team's most experienced swimmers on the team.
The problem for the Hurricanes hasn't been picking up individual victories during meets. Both DiSanti and Pero have consistently delivered individual victories. The problem has been the team's depth. With only six swimmers, the team can't fill the lanes in any of the events and can only participate in two of the three relay events.
"We can't fill the lanes for each event or more than one lane in some," Pero said. "So even if we get first, by taking second and third they can beat us and get more points."
Micah Tassone has also helped with the team's success, participating on the 200 medley relay team. Trevor and Travis Ciempa also joined
The lack of victories doesn't seem to be holding down the Hurricanes, who are focused on team results and improvement.
"Sure things have been a little rough," Pero said. "We really have to work on our team relays."
Pero and DiSanti are each key members of the relay teams. The other two slots rotate depending on the event. No matter who is swimming and who is watching, the team feeds off each other.
"We have really good coaching and we motivate each other pretty good to try and get better times" Pero said. "We've gotten better already. It has a lot to do with the energy our team has."
MIAA rules allow swimmers to participate in only three individual and two relay events per meet. The Hurricanes have had just five members at many meets, meaning filling all the events is impossible. Even if the entire roster was present, Hoosac wouldn't be able to fill the holes. "I think most times it comes down to numbers for the guys," coach Eryn Brewer said. "When you can only run two of three relay teams because you only have five guys, it makes it harder. Not being able to [participate] in everything and only having one swimmer in each event really makes a big difference."
MIAA rules allow swimmers to participate in only three individual and two relay events per meet. The Hurricanes have had just five members at many meets, meaning filling all the events is impossible. Even if the entire roster was present, Hoosac wouldn't be able to fill the holes. "I think most times it comes down to numbers for the guys," coach Eryn Brewer said. "When you can only run two of three relay teams because you only have five guys, it makes it harder. Not being able to [participate] in everything and only having one swimmer in each event really makes a big difference."
Even if the losses do start to pile up, Brewer isn't worried about any let downs. She sees the team working hard every day in an effort to get better.
"I think the boys do a really good job motivating themselves," Brewer said. "They're doing a good job on their own and they really want to improve."
While they won't be able to qualify as a team, the Hurricanes are hoping to send a few members to the Western Mass. meet at the end of the season. Pero and DiSanti are both hoping to help the relay team improve enough to qualify.
The only victories for Hoosac have come against a smaller St. Joseph's team and New Lebanon.
"They're all motivating themselves now that they are actually winning some meets and winning some races," Brewer said following Tuesday's 88-42 loss to Wahconah. "They're all getting closer to Western Mass., which I think they are kind of excited about since we didn't send any boys to Western Mass. last year."
While DiSanti, Pero and Rowe are providing the experience, Travis, Trevor and Tassone are all steadily improving. While the Ciempas are brand new to the sport, Tassone is not. He brings a little experience to the pool.
"Micah is a really solid 200 swimmer," Brewer said. "I can put him in any event and he'll just do it. Which is great to have those swimmers that will just jump in and do whatever the team needs."
To reach Sam Monroe,
email smonroe@thetranscript.com.
On Twitter: @NAT_DigitalSam
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