Sportsmanship Swims Above All For Golden Eagles at New Rochelle Meet

New Rochelle, N. Y. — On Saturday, the Golden Eagles won their meet against the New Rochelle Blue Angels handily, 96-72; but it is not the score of the meet that any of the athletes will remember. The extraordinary sportsmanship that the Golden Eagles showed throughout the competition ultimately brought their overwhelmingly appreciative opponents to tears as the two teams reminded everyone in attendance about the true value of sports.

When Kim Mazza (Bohemia, N.Y./ Connetquot) and Gabrielle Zollo (West Islip, N.Y./ West Islip) finished the 1000 Freestyle in a first and second place, respectively, a new swimmer from New Rochelle still had five laps in front of her. Rather than warm down, both ladies chose to instead swim alongside the CNR competitor as she completed her remaining laps. The rest of the Golden Eagles followed suit and continued to show this same exceptional support and kindness throughout the remainder of the meet.

Instead of simply going through the motions of what was a relatively effortless win, the Golden Eagles showed compassion, solidarity and encouragement to their fellow athletes, and in doing so, made all the difference.

In addition to her second place finish in the 1000 Free, Zollo also finished the 100 Fly in first place with a time of 1:09.29. Lorraine Diehl (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./ Sachem North) came in first in the 200 Free (2:30.06); Jenna Birkmire (Shoreham, N.Y./ Shoreham-Wading River) came in first in the 50 Free (26.55); Marissa Palmeri (East Islip, N.Y./ East Islip) came in first in the 200 IM (2:46.18); Melissa Nocco (Holbrook / Sachem North) came in first in the 100 Free (1:05.46); and Kelly Walsh (Commack, N.Y. Commack) came in first in the Women 100 Backstroke (1:27.77).

SJC's "A" and "B" relay teams both performed excellently in the 200 Medley Relay, finishing with times of 2:31.36 and 2:38.59, respectively.

The Golden Eagles will travel to Hunter College on Friday for a 6 p.m. meet.