Ferndale – Defending Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 2 champion Farmington Hills Mercy opened the defense of their title with an impressive dual meet win over a combined Royal Oak Shrine/West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy team on Sept. 16 at Ferndale High School.

   Mercy easily won the 2007 MHSAA Division 2 title outpacing second place Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central 346.5 to 216. The win broke Birmingham Groves' streak of four straight Division 2 titles. Groves finished fifth.

   It was Mercy's first year competing in Division 2 after years of success in Division 1. In 2006, Mercy was third in Division 1 in 2006 behind Ann Arbor Pioneer and Holland. Mercy finished runner-up to champion Pioneer in 2002, 2004, and 2005.

   The Marlins have won the past three Oakland County championships and all but one Catholic High School League championship since 1967. You read that correctly, 1967. The Marlins won 23 straight CHSL titles from 1967 to 1989 before falling by one point (423-422) to Marian in 1990 to end the streak. Since then, the Marlins have won 17 consecutive titles.

   Mercy returns 20 girls from last year's team, including 2008 captains Maura Nicholson, Megan Gegesky, Kaitlyn Jefferson, and diver Chandler Foster.

  Gegesky finished seventh in the state in the 100-yard butterfly and eighth in the 200-yard freestyle. She competes with Club Wolverine. Jefferson, a member of the Livonia Community Swim Club, finished eighth in the state in the 100 freestyle.

   "Our captains are very representative of our whole team," said head coach Shannon Dunworth. "We don't have any one outstanding individual on our team. … We do have a lot of worker bees, a lot of soldiers, a lot of swimmers who put in a lot of hard work. That's exactly what our captains are."

   The Marlins have strong younger accomplished swimmers as well. Sophomore Nikki Barczak placed fourth in Division 2 in the 100-yard freestyle, fifth in the 200 free, anchored the second-placed 400 freestyle relay team, and led off the third-place 200 freestyle relay team. Sophomore Maria Bargardi placed fourth in the state in the 200-yard individual medley and ninth in the 100-yard butterfly.

   Mercy fields four excellent divers, including Foster, freshman Emmy Orrico, and seniors Carly Sevald (ninth in the state in 2007) and Lauren Smith.

   “Frequently, you’ll see solid teams without a diver. We’ve got four. It’s a big plus,” said Dunworth.

   Against Shrine/Jewish Academy, Mercy loaded its races with freshmen to allow them to gain experience. Most of Mercy's more experienced swimmers were limited to relay duty.

  "In this meet, we really were looking for our freshmen to perform," said Dunworth. "For the most part, they jumped right in and did well. I'm pleased with our performance. We were able to swim everyone. We really wanted each freshmen to get at least two events."

  Mercy swept all of the meet events. The Mercy team of Gegesky, senior Kaitlyn Jefferson, senior Eileen Fredenhall, and sophomore Geri Michalzuk won the 200-yard medley relay in 1:57.11. Freshman Carlee Jackson raced to a win in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:10.11. Sophomore Taylor Steffl was victorious in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:20:75. Freshman Sato Kakihara won the 50-yard freestyle in 26.18. Senior Alex Swies topped the 100-yard butterfly field in 1:03.71. In the 100-yard freestyle, freshman Olivia Samoray won in 57.16. Junior Emily Reamer won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:18.96. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, the Mercy team of Nicholson, Reamer, Swies, and senior Alexa Milewski won in 1:47.22. Junior Katie Patterson won the 100-yard backstroke in 1:05.02. Bargardi took the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:11.50. And the Mercy team of Nicholson, Steffl, Michalsuk, and senior Natasha Mason won the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:48.90.

   Mercy has a rich tradition in swimming and diving and Dunworth fully expects his team to be in contention for the Division 2 championship again this year.

   But overall he has bigger goals for his swimmers. "You really want each girl to be more mature, a better athlete, a better teammate, and ultimately more successful by the end of the year," he said. "For us, success is judged each day. We want to challenge ourselves at practice and at each meet and be better than the day before."

   "We lost a lot of key girls from last year's team," said Foster. "It's going to take a lot of hard work for us to repeat. I'm really excited to take on the challenge and optimistic about our chances."

   Mercy travels to South Bend, Ind. on Sept. 20 to face Chicago's Loyola Academy. They will defend their Oakland County title on Oct. 3 and 4. The Marlins compete in the MISCA meet on Oct. 11 and face eight-time defending Division 1/Class A champion Ann Arbor Pioneer on Oct. 17 and defending Division 3 champion Marian on Oct. 30 before heading into the Catholic League championships and state competition.