With only three months left before season, the Girls Water Polo team receives devastating news. No one saw this coming and it was last of their worries, but the head coach for Girls Water Polo and Girls Swim has left his position. Coach Russ has been working as a coach for six years and everyone on the pool deck knew him quite well.

The news came harshly – especially since the day he announced the news, was that same day he left. Most of the girls had a strong bond with Coach Russ and could always turn to him for math help.

Seeing this team play in the water, you would have no idea that they would cry to see someone let go. Now the worst has come into their minds with the question, “who is going to be our coach now?”

Coach Russ will definitely be missed and remembered. No word on where he will head next or what is in store for the season. For now, the JV coach, Harmony, will take his place and condition the girls.

This won’t bring the girls’ spirits down. Whatever happens this season will hopefully be as great as the last season.

By Rachel McMillen, Sports Editor

For the past three years, the Lady Baron swimmers have stunned the crowd with their performance. However the girls especially surpassed everyone\’s expectations this season, setting one CIF Division I record, five new school records, two CIF Masters Meet records, and placing third overall at the CIF Division I finals. 

At the CIF finals on Friday, May 15, the team took home three gold medals, one silver medal, one bronze medal, a 12^th place, a 13^th place, and a 15^th place. Standout performances came from twin juniors Cynthia and Danica Fascella, junior Alex Huynen, sophomore Shelby Webber, and junior Erika Lucas. 

Cynthia Fascella alone earned two of Fountain Valley\’s gold medals that night. She captured both the 50 free, in a swift 23.04, and the 100 free, with a time of 50.21. Even more impressive though was these weren\’t even her best times this year. She broke her 50 record at CIF prelims with an eye-popping 22.94 and set her 100 free record at the CIF Masters Meet in an unimaginable 49.89, becoming only the second girl in county to go below 50 seconds in that event. This time and her time in the 50 at the masters meet earned her both CIF Masters Meet records. She also lent her speed to two of the record-setting relays at CIF finals. 

Huynen and Webber also had individual swims at CIF finals at Mt. San Antonio College. Huynen placed 12^th in the 100 butterfly, breaking her own school record with a time of 57.76 seconds. She also placed 15^th in the 100 backstroke in 59.51 seconds. Webber took second in the 100 free, right behind teammate Cynthia, in with a time of 51.96. 

The highlight of the season, by far, came at the end of the girls 4 by 50 freestyle relay at the CIF finals. Fountain Valley\’s relay, consisting of both Fascella twins, Webber, and Lucas, set the CIF Division I record with a time of 1:34.94. They were able to pull through and finish right in front of CIF champions and rival school Edison. Currently, their time qualifies them second in California and thirteenth in the nation.  

Though not quite as exciting as their middle relay, the girls\’ 4 by 100 freestyle relay at the finals also had an outstanding performance. The relay, consisting of both Fascellas, Webber, and Huynen, set another new school record with a time of 3:29.76 and took third place overall. 

And while this year proved to be an extremely impressive one, next year looks to be even better for the lady swimmers. All of this year\’s standout CIF swimmers are underclassmen and will be returning for another season as Lady Barons. The team also looks to add exceptional freshman Jamie Dang to their depth. And since all of the girls will only be getting faster, rumor has it their spectacular 4 by 50 relay could be going after a national record next year.

With winter coming to an end, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and the birds are singing. But most importantly, the FVHS Girls Swim Team is getting ready for the 2009 swim season.

Because of the size of their graduating class last year, there have been many questions on how the ladies will do this year. However, Head Coach Jeff Russ says, “We should do very well this year. Even though we lost eight seniors last year, we have gained some very strong freshmen such as Jenn Lightbody, Jenna Reese, and Taylor Johnson. They will contribute to the team greatly and help us dominate our meets.”

The ladies have been practicing for hours since summer to make this year\’s swim season the best as possible. Russ has very high expectations for the ladies and says, “I have a good feeling that we will make it to CIF and at least place third overall.”

The girls practice twice a day, two hours in the morning and three in the afternoon. The practices are seemingly endless and extremely difficult, but it keeps the ladies in peak shape and will help them tremendously in their meets throughout the season.

The FVHS Girls Swim team is currently ranked number second in the league and third overall in CIF.

Last Friday March 13th, Fountain Valley\’s swim team took on the Mater Dei Monarchs in their first dual meet of the season. The girls took home their first victory on all levels, with varsity winning by 20 points and JV winning by 8 points. The boys however did not fare as well and lost the meet by 12 points on the varsity level.

Standout performances on the girls\’ team came from juniors Alex Huynen, Erika Lucas, and Danica Fascella. Huynen captured the 100 backstroke while D. Fascella won the 200 freestyle and Lucas took first in the 50 freestyle.

This victory was particularly impressive for the ladies considering they were without two of their fastest swimmers, sophomore Shelby Webber and last year\’s OC Varsity Swimmer of the Year Cynthia Fascella (‘10). Webber and C. Fascella were training with their club team for this week\’s Jr. Nationals meet in Florida.

Missing with them were two of the fastest members of the guys\’ team as well, junior Lyndon Tran and senior Kevin Miller. All four swimmers will be returning in time for the first league meet against Marina on March 24th though.

“I\’m really excited that we won this meet without some of our best swimmers because it truly shows the depth of our team,” says D. Fascella.

As seen in Friday\’s meet, te Lady Barons are especially strong this year.Currently ranked 3rd in CIF, closely behind number two Edison, it will be extremely interesting to see what the girls are capable of.

“I think we\’re going to have a very successful season this year. I can\’t wait to see how we do against Edison and at CIF finals,” says Lucas.