The Section IX tournament will be held at Valley Central High School in Montgomery on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-8. Click here for the link to watch the Thursday competition.  Click here for the link to watch the Saturday finals online. There is no livestream for Friday’s events.

Buy tickets to attend the event by clicking here.

 

The Pine Bush varsity swim and dive team heads into the Section IX tournament this Thursday and Saturday with much excitement. They are coming off an eighth straight OCIAA championship and 87 wins in a row in Section IX competition. That’s pretty impressive. 

“The really good swimmers keep coming,” said Coach John Barth. “We are deep. We win because we are a team.”

 

 

Their theme this year has been “Built by teamwork. Fueled by tradition.”
Coach Barth said there are some really great swimmers in the section and the Pine Bush girls go head to head each time. Led by captains Ella Humphrey and Alanah Giannini, both seniors, he said they are a young team, with standout swimmers from seventh grade up through high school.

 

There is some pressure to continue their streak. Ciara Giannini, an eighth-grader and sister of Alanah, is on the team. In speaking with Coach Barth for the Crispell Middle School video announcements, Ciara talked about that pressure.

 

“It’s really nice being a part of something so great because nobody’s done this before,” she said. “But it’s also a lot of pressure because you don’t want to be on the team when a loss happens, which, it’s not going to.”

 

We like her optimism! We also like the character of this team. Coach Barth said this is a terrific group of young women, looking out for each other.

 

“These girls work really hard and they are great to each other,” he said. “They are competitive but support each other. They are great human beings.”
Gwendolyn Loennecker, also an eighth-grader on the team, likes having the older girls there.

 

“The older girls look out for everyone,” she said. “They are always there for us.”

Now that’s a great team!

 

Best wishes to our varsity swimming and diving team. You make us Pine Bush proud!