Long Beach exceeds expectations

Ranked at the bottom of Nassau Conference 2 entering the campaign, Long Beach finished the regular season with a record of 5-2 and closed on a positive note last Friday in a win over Lynbrook.
“We had 12 swimmers and two divers set personal bests,” Lady Marines coach Lynn Volosevich said. “It was exciting. I always tell the girls they can’t control what anyone else does and to just keep working.”
Long Beach lost a couple of standouts from a year ago when it finished fifth in the county meet. It entered 2019 ranked No. 15 in Nassau and has far exceeded expectations, Volosevich said. “We brought back some good talent and our lineup was bolstered by some young girls who are outstanding,” she noted. “We’ve got a really strong middle school group so the future looks bright.”
Leading the way has been five-time state qualifier Isabella Defonte, a standout in the backstroke and butterfly. She went undefeated in conference meets in both events. Defonte just missed winning the county championship in the 100-yard backstroke last season, finishing runner-up to Katherine Hong (56.89 seconds) of Herricks with a time of 57.44. Defonte was also eighth in the county in the 100 fly and swam the leadoff leg in Long Beach’s 400 freestyle relay that placed fourth.
“She’s a consistent swimmer with a phenomenal work ethic,” Volosevich said of Defonte, who’s in the mix again for the county title in the 100 backstroke after a 59-second performance last month.

Junior Livia Casalaina has state meet experience in a relay and has already met county qualifying times for four events including the 500 freestyle. She’s been a model of consistency and tough to beat in the long distance race, clocking 5:45.44 in last Friday’s win. “Livia’s fast and versatile and keeps getting faster in every event,” Volosevich said. “She’s solid in the 100 free and the 200 individual medley in addition to the 500.”
Senior Amy Ramon has been a major contributor in the 100 and 200 freestyle distances and met the county qualifying times for both. She severely sliced her time in the 200 by more than five seconds from the opening meet Sept. 16 to last Friday’s finale, down to 2:08.34.
Junior Allison Cohen is Long Beach’s best diver and also among the top 10 in Nassau. “She has a gymnastics background and she’s so graceful when she dives,” Volosevich said. “She’s also fearless. She was asked to try diving and few years ago and has become great at it.”
Junior Kaylee Low, a state qualifier in 2017, is thriving in freestyle sprints, and freshman Shannon Powers has been a steady contributor in the 100 breaststroke and 100 free. The coach said a trio of seventh-graders — Gwen Serafin, Addison Bradley and Alexis Egbert — were keys to the third-place conference finish.
Next up for the Lady Marines are the division championships Oct. 30, followed by the county championships Nov. 8-9. Both meets will be held at the Nassau Aquatic Center at Eisenhower Park.