As Matt Mauclair talks about the Fox Chapel Area swim team in advance of the upcoming season, it’s not hard to notice the optimism and excitement in his voice.
“It’s going to be a great year,” the head coach said. “Most of these kids swim year-round. We’re never really in a building phase necessarily. With club teams and the outside meets throughout the year, we’re really looking at coming into the season a couple steps ahead of where most teams are at this time. Our club team is really vibrant, very positive, and the atmosphere is really conducive to building young people and taking them on the journey of what they want swimming to be.”
Coach Mauclair really gets excited when he talks about the girls team.
“We have so much depth,” he said. “I think we really have a good chance on the girls side to do something special because of that depth.”
The 2023-24 season, Mauclair’s first as coach, saw a lot of success in the pool for Fox Chapel Area. The boys amassed a 6-0 record in WPIAL Class 3A Section 3 and an 8-5 record overall. The team finished fifth in team WPIAL standings and 11th in the PIAA meet.
The girls also finished 6-0 in the section and swam their way to a sparkling 11-2 record. The Foxes finished second in the WPIAL behind only North Allegheny and sixth in the PIAA.
With that in mind, some big things are expected from the Fox Chapel Area swimmers this year.
“We have a great senior class on both sides,” coach Mauclair said. “That doesn’t even note our 17-member freshmen class that we have coming in, all of whom are going to make contributions. It’s going to be exciting.”
Leading that senior class are Sarah Pasquella, Christian Dantey, and Owen Howell, each of whom have committed to Division I programs to continue their swimming career.
Sarah has committed to the University of Michigan. As a junior, she placed first in the WPIAL in the 200 freestyle, second in the 100 breaststroke, and was a member of the WPIAL championship 400 freestyle relay team and a 200 freestyle relay team that placed second. She took third in the 200 freestyle and second in the 100 breaststroke in the PIAA meet. The 400 freestyle relay team placed fifth and the 200 freestyle relay team placed third. Pasquella broke a school record in the 50 freestyle as part of this relay with a time of 23.55.
Christian plans to attend George Washington University. His junior season included a second-place WPIAL finish in the 200 freestyle with a school-record time of 1:39.45, and a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke. Christian placed sixth in the PIAA meet, swimming a school-record time of 56.59. He also was a member of the two relay teams that advanced to the PIAA meet.
Owen, who committed to Emory University in Atlanta, set a school record in winning the WPIAL championship in the 200 individual medley with a time of 1:52.38, taking fifth in that event in the PIAA meet. He also qualified for states in the 100 breaststroke and as a member of two relay teams that also qualified for the state meet.
“They’re out to win this year,” coach Mauclair said of that trio. “They take ownership of their success, and they take the reins to try to get it to the next level.”
Other key members of the team include senior Grace Kovach, who shines in the 50 and 100 freestyle, and senior Margaret Rusche, who specializes in the butterfly.
While those seniors will be looked upon to be leaders, coach Mauclair expects great things from the underclassmen as well.
Sophomores Charlotte Rusche and Josephine Stanczak are among those quality underclassmen.
“They are focusing on how to race and compete and will really be contributors throughout the season,” coach Mauclair said.
As for the toughest competition for the Foxes in the pool this season, coach Mauclair said team members really don’t like to mention the two letters that stand for a team that is a perennial favorite. (By the way, it’s “NA” for North Allegheny.) The two teams square off Dec. 9 at North Allegheny.
Other top-notch competition is expected to come from Upper St. Clair, Peters Township, Bethel Park, and Mt. Lebanon.
“The top half of our schedule is pretty heavy competition-wise,” coach Mauclair said. “Then it will be a good chance during the back half as we get ready for WPIALs to get the young kids experience and allow them to take the responsibility of going through the more laid-back meets.”
The start of the season is Dec. 4 against Peters Township, and coach Mauclair has a theme for his swimmers for the season.
“I’m really stressing you have to believe,” he said. “You have to believe in the team. You have to believe in yourself. You have to believe in the plan set in front of you. I see the kind of work that we put in. In the end, it’s up to the kids to execute that. Trust and belief (will be important). We do a lot of outside-of-the-pool team-building and mental training. I think that’s really important to teach them how to learn the benefits of going through the process and understanding how to stay in the moment. A lot of teams rush through the season and don’t embrace the process. The process is really important for all of us to understand your full potential. That’s something we try to echo through each day.”