Area Sports by Michael Dashiell

In a case of a little school of fish in a big pond, Sequim swimmers got their first splash of the season in Port Angeles on Sept. 15.

Despite their vociferous cheers for their peninsula visitors, the Roughriders were not as accommodating on the scoreboard.

Port Angeles, 29 swim-mers strong, out-dueled

Sequim's 10-member team, 144-28.

Sequim coach Linda Moats said her squad was just happy to get in the water after a long preseason.

"The new girls were very happy that they could swim," Moats said. "Some of the veterans were happy with their improvement over last year's best times, others were disappointed. So, overall, it was a mixed bag. Of course, we couldn't come close to competing against Port Angeles' ... team, but we had fun."

Returnee Rachel Hardy posted strong finishes in the 50 free (second place) and 500 free (third).

Fellow returnee Rachel Hughes saw an improvement in two events from her 2008 marks. She topped her 100 butterfly time by 10 seconds and her 200 individual medley by five seconds. "We were just as thrilled as her but I think she was more surprised," Moats said.

Newcomer Anna Mittmann swam to a third-place finish in the 100 breaststroke with a 1:56.25 finish.

Rookies Ellie Hubbard (50 free, 500 free) and Serena Okamoto (100 free, 200 free) each scored points for the team in both of their events.

The Wolves are back in the water on Sept. 23 at Klahowya (Silverdale).



Reach Michael Dashiell at miked@sequim

gazette.com.