A year ago, New Providence fell just shy of winning a sectional title, losing to Gov. Livingston by two points.
Thursday, the two rivals, separated by just a mile in physical distance, drove over an hour to Mercer County to fight for a sectional crown once again at The College of New Jersey.
This time every thing went the Pioneers’ way as New Providence won the Central Group C sectional championship with a hard fought 96-74 win over the Highlanders.
The meet was breathtakingly close with the two teams tied, dead even after the first five events. But it was New Providence that put on the final push to the finish, pulling away for the win.
“The feeling is joy,” New Providence coach Walter Kempner said as he tried to dry off after being tossed in the pool by his sectional championship team. “It’s something we wanted to feel because last year we had the same matchup. We had a great meet last year when we lost by two. this year we were able to get them in the regular season, but we knew it was going to be close.
“He’s a phenomenal coach (Gov. Livingston coach David Closs) with great kids and a great program. We knew it was going to be down to the wire. We were working on a lineup for the last day. And we figured we could end up kind of where we were. There weren’t any tricks available that we didn’t know about.
“The kids swam great and they’re overjoyed. They deserved it, so it’s just a great feeling.”
The two teams slugged it out through the first half of the meet. Gov. Livingston won the 200 medley relay, and two events later, the Highlanders’ Alexa Windt finished first in the 200 IM in 2:08.29.
The Pioneers meanwhile, got a win from Michelle Fadeev won the 200 free in 2:06.49, Bella Haywood won the 50 free in 24.63 and Maria Netrebko won the 100 fly in 59.43.
At the conclusion of the butterfly, the two teams were tied and the New Providence girls would rally to clinch the win, including getting a pair of wins from Larissa Kavanaugh in the 100 free and the 100 back, as well as victories in the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay.
“I think being here this year it was even more nervous, because last year was so close,” said Netrebko, who in addition to her win in the butterfly, also was on the winning 200 and 400 free relay teams. “We were losing, we were tied, we were winning and finally we lost by two points.
“We’re a small team but we are really tough. And I think everyone did their best job to win and participate as a team. I’m really proud of them.
“Everyone had the same goal. We wanted to win, and we did it.”
New Providence coach Kempner had expected his team to be stronger in the finish, but that didn’t mean the Pioneers didn’t have to put forth a gritty effort over the final six events to come away with the title.
“Once we figured, when we got to the break and we had butterfly coming, we knew we could build up some momentum,” he said. “From that point, with the freestyle and going into our relays and the backstroke, that’s where we though the strength of us could happen.
“Last year that bad taste was in our mouths and we wanted to make sure we didn’t have that. We wanted to change the narrative. So this year we grinded, because we’re in a county that has some great teams. But that just makes you battle tested. Once we got in there, we learned what the idea of racing is and what it means to stand up for your team and be there for your teammates.
“They really bought into that. So through a lot of ups and downs, we managed to stay focused on what the goal was and achieved it. It’s really gratifying.”
While the Highlanders certainly did not enjoy having the tables turned on them in this year’s sectional final, Gov. Livingston coach Closs was happy with the effort he got from his team.
“I pointed out the meet and the score ended up 96-74, which is exactly what it ended up being,” Closs said after the meet. “”We needed a couple of breaks here and there. I just know that we pushed the hell out of New Providence. I think they’re a great team and they deserved to win today, but I thought we were just outstanding. They’re just a little bit better, and that’s okay.
“It was an excellent meet. I told the girls, ‘I don’t think we lost today. I think New Providence won.’ We swam so many lifetime bests today. As a coach, that’s the best thing I can ask from them: to swim their very best when the time comes. And that’s what they did today. I’m just super, super proud of them.
