Nov. 19--The strength of the Rosary swim team is that it has no weakness. The weakness of the Rosary swim team is that it has no strength.
The Royals, known as the "Beads" in swimming, put the state on notice Saturday when they won the Neuqua Valley Sectional by 81 points and qualified all three relays and two swimmers in each of the eight individual events for state. Their 19-for-19 qualifying performance was a first for the program and gives it two more qualifiers than any other school.
But while Rosary has unmatched depth, it has few star swimmers who are locks to gain critical points at the state meet Friday and Saturday at New Trier. Junior Alexis Yager returns to defend her 200-yard individual medley championship from a year ago, and freshman Athena Ye had the state's fastest sectional time in the 100 backstroke (56.06 seconds). The Beads will need everyone to be at their best in Friday's preliminaries to qualify for Saturday's finals.
"We talk about qualifying everybody for state, but at the end of the day we can't worry about what everyone else does," Rosary coach Bill Schalz said. "It's not unlike a football team. You can have the greatest play drawn up, but if one guy doesn't block you're in trouble."
The Beads won four consecutive state titles from 2006-09 and also have four runner-up finishes in the last 16 years, and only once during that stretch, in 2012, did they finish outside the top 10 at state. But conference rivals Fenwick and defending state champion Loyola have outshined Rosary of late. That changed this year, when Rosary went 8-0 in dual meets -- including wins against the Friars and Ramblers -- and won every invitational along the way.
Schalz said the Beads have more depth than they could try to qualify, with some state-caliber swimmers watching from the pool deck as their teammates swam at sectionals.
"They've all been extremely supportive of each other," he said. "With all the competition this could have turned into a nightmare, but it wasn't at all."
Without a bevy of lockdown swimmers, the Beads have plenty of competition. Lake Forest and Loyola each have 17 qualifiers, and all three schools have a chance to qualify three relay teams for Saturday's finals. Relays are worth twice as many points as individual events.
Lake Forest (6-1 in dual meets) finished third behind Rosary and New Trier at the Trevian Relays last month, but the Scouts were plagued by injuries and were missing a few seniors due to college visits. Now they're healthy and have a chance to gain an edge in diving, where two Scouts could score valuable points in the only event Rosary will sit out.
"We have a little bit of a leg up with divers, but I think it's really going to come down to those relays," Lake Forest coach Carolyn Grevers said. "I think if we do what we're meant to do and compete like we've been training and competing all season long, we'll be fine."
mstainbrook@tribpub.com
IHSA girls swimming and diving state meet
When: Friday, Saturday.
Where: New Trier High School, Winnetka.
2014 champion: Loyola.
Returning individual champions
Avery Braunecker, Effingham sr.: 50 free, 100 free.
Kirsten Jacobsen, Barrington sr.: 200 free, 500 free.
Noelle Peplowski, Metamora so.: 100 breast.
Alexis Yager, Rosary jr.: 200 IM.
