Six Sets Of Sibling Swimmers/Divers—

True Family Affair In NHS Pool Brings Sisters Together In More Ways Than One

By Andy Hutchison

Sports teams are often dubbed as being a “second family” for athletes. After all, groups of team members spend hours together training and offering support, advice — maybe even some good-natured sibling-style ribbing.

In the case of the Newtown High School girls’ swimming team, which just wrapped up the season this past weekend, many of the team members really are siblings. The Nighthawks, have six sets of sisters — including two sets of three. That’s 14 girls on a 36-member squad. Talk about a true family feeling within a team.

It’s no coincidence — swimmers come from “swimming families” Newtown Coach Zach Gauvin points out. Gauvin certainly would know. He’s one of five brothers and sisters, all of whom have been swimmers at one point or another. Gauvin competed at Southern Connecticut State University, where the NHS swimmers took part in the Class LL state championships on November 17. “It’s one of those sports where it runs in the family,” Gauvin said.

As a matter of fact, many of this year’s swimmers have older brothers and sisters, as well as parents, who are or have been competitive swimmers. Most of the lineup comprised team members who come from a family of swimmers.

All of this past season’s younger sisters are freshmen — Hannah Delia, Annika Fagerholm, Megan McDonald, Eliza Eggleston, and Amy Martinelli, as well as diver Abbi Winters. The older siblings are a mix of juniors and seniors: Alessandra Delia, Abby Fagerholm, twins Jenn and Shannon McDonald, Zoe Eggleston, Sally and Kate Martinelli, and diver Morgan Winters.

The freshmen have been around the Newtown High pool, watching their older sisters compete, for the past few years, and love having the opportunity to now be a part of the action, along side their siblings. “I was all excited about it in eighth grade,” said Annika Fagerholm, who participates in the 100-yard breaststroke and 500 freestyle events.

Annika and older sister Abby both swim the 500, which makes things especially interesting. “I like swimming with her. It makes for good competition, and I like to work out with her,” Abby Fagerholm said.

There’s the swimming-specific aspect that these sisters encounter. Then there’s the out-of-the-pool socialization element taking on a new twist for girls who face the sibling-turned-teammate scenario.

“I think we were kind of exposed to the other person’s friend mode, so I think we got closer,” Morgan Winters said of practicing her dives with as well as socializing with teammates, including Abbi.

“It’s been fun because we get to spend more time together,” senior 100 free swimmer Alessandra Delia said of being in and around the pool with younger sibling Hannah.

Morgan Winters’ younger sister, Abbi, said it was nice to have Morgan there to go to for a level of comfort on a new team. That seems to be the consensus among the first-year high schoolers — that having big sister around made the transition into high school swimming, along with getting to know a new group of teammates, smoother. “I think it makes it easier having a sibling on the team,” said Hannah Delia, who swims the 50 free.

“They help you get to know the team better,” freshman Amy Martinelli, who competed in the 100- and 50-yard freestyle events, said of junior teammate/sister Sally and senior teammate/sister Kate.

Sally Martinelli, whose top event is the 100-yard butterfly, points out that she sees her sisters differently when they are her teammates.

“I think the three of us being on the team has definitely brought us closer than we’ve ever been,” backstroker Kate Martinelli added.

It might not be so easy to be a freshman on a team of mostly more experienced athletes, and one of the advantages of having older sisters on the team, you might think, would be getting pointers and encouragement. The Eggleston sisters, however, have a somewhat flip-flopped scenario. “I wish I was as fast as she was,” junior Zoe Eggleston said of little sister Eliza. “It makes me work hard because I do not want to lose my spot.”

Among the events Zoe Eggleston, a very strong swimmer herself, competes in are the 200 individual medley and the breaststroke. Eliza Eggleston swims the 200 free and 100 butterfly. “It’s pretty fun. It makes it less intimidating,” the younger Eggleston said of having her sister around.

Senior Jenn McDonald, who has been a competitive swimmer in the past, served as team manager this year. She was hard at work keeping score and assisting the coaching staff, all the while supporting her sisters and teammates. “It’s the best of both worlds,” she said, adding that getting to watch all of the events is an enjoyable way to be at the pool.

“I think having older sisters on the team makes it enjoyable because I have someone to lean back on,” said the youngest McDonald, Megan, who swims the 500 free and 200 IM.

The thing senior 100-yard butterfly competitor Shannon McDonald likes about having her sisters around is the fact that “they’re straight forward and they’re not going to sugarcoat anything.” She added that the motivation her sisters give her if she doesn’t have such a strong swim only makes her work harder in the pool.

Oh, and there’s one thing the parents certainly can’t complain about: “It makes for good carpooling,” Abby Fagerholm said with a laugh.