Although the Fox Chapel Area High School swim team has undergone a coaching change, big things are expected in the pool once again.
Matt Mauclair takes over duties from Dan Taylor after serving for three years as an assistant coach. He will lead a program in which both the boys and girls teams produced impressive 10-2 records and unblemished 6-0 section marks last season. The girls team finished as the WPIAL runner-up, and the boys team finished fourth in the WPIAL.
“Coming into this season as a first-year coach, trust has to be the No. 1 priority,” coach Mauclair said. “I’ve been in these kids’ lives for a pretty good while. I’ve seen these kids come up through the ranks in different levels of swimming. I want to know not only the young person in the pool and what they go through there, but also the young person out of the pool. I think it affects what we’re trying to do here with the season.”
With that in mind, coach Mauclair’s goal is to see how the team can continue to build since some key members from the last two seasons have graduated, including Sophie Shao, the most decorated swimmer in Fox Chapel Area history.
“We’re diving into this process, the everyday grind of getting a little bit better than yesterday and looking to tomorrow to get a little better than today,” he said.
While some of the top performers in the pool from the last two seasons may have moved on, that does not mean the cupboard is bare for this year’s team, which has some quality returners, as well as a promising freshman class.
Upperclassmen looking to make their mark include junior Sarah Pasquella, about whom Mauclair said, “What can’t she do in the pool?”.
Pasquella placed third in the 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle in last season’s WPIAL championships and swam a leg on the WPIAL championship 400-free relay and on the 200-medley relay team that placed second.
Juniors Christian Dantey and Owen Howell also return after successful sophomore seasons.
Dantey was the WPIAL champion in the 200 freestyle and placed third in the 100 breaststroke, qualifying for the PIAA meet in both events. He and Owen were members of the 400-freestyle relay team that placed second in the WPIAL and 16th in the PIAA, and the 200-medley relay team that placed sixth at WPIALs. Owen placed fourth in the 200-individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke at WPIALs.
“I’ve never met two young men who have the drive and the mindset that they do,” coach Mauclair said. “It is unparalleled. They push each other in the pool. They also support each other outside of the pool.”
Also expected to contribute are seniors Henry Koloc, Claudia “CJ” Smith, and Isabella Marcos, and junior Margaret Rusche.
Some of those freshmen of whom coach Mauclair spoke of are Charlotte Rusche, Josephine Stanczak, and Sarah Huang.
“Taking these freshmen and allowing them to understand what kind of an integral part of the team they can be is where I get excited,” coach Mauclair said. “I get chills just talking about it.”
Editor’s note: A preview of the 2023-2024 Fox Chapel Area diving team will be published at www.fcasdathletics.org on Friday, December 1.