By William Knight
The stands were packed at Long Beach High school as many parents made the trip down to the Long Beach pool in hopes that the impossible may become possible. The Port Washington/Roslyn Boys Varsity Swim Team may defeat a swimming dynasty in their own home pool. The last few meets had gone very well. Manhasset and Great Neck South were very good wins for the team and former county champions Garden City had lost to the Port swimmers for the second consecutive year. Could they add to their wins by beating the number one seeded team, a team coming from an area where swimming is a way of life? This had not happened for decades, in fact a season like this had never happened.
It was hard to believe that less than a decade ago the team was in Conference 3. However, over the years, under the direction of Coach Joe Lennon and Assistant Coach Matt Carrozzo the team rapidly gained strength. They moved into Conference 2 and later Conference 1.
That day the meet was very competitive. The entire team was posting good times. During the diving break, Port divers Josh Wojotowitz, Gordon Shaub and Dan Dzwlewicz had brought the team closer to their goal. Jonah Goodman and Calvin Ye scored second and third in the backstroke. Captains Derek Knight and Orry Zayit ran up to the starting blocks at the start of the breaststroke to give words of encouragement to the next heat of swimmers. Thomas Vincent and Brian Ma were expected to finish second and fourth but instead finished first and third respectively. Port Washington/Roslyn pulled ahead by a slim margin. Eyes were fixed on the scoring table with Ivy Santodonato and the representative from Long Beach.
The win rested on the final relay of Derek Knight, Ron Basak, Chris DiLillo and Orry Zayit. During the relay, the cheers from the stands became deafeningly loud. It was impossible to tell for which team any particular fan was cheering. When Orry touched the pad, the arms of the Port parents flew into the air. This was also followed by many high fives and handshakes not only between Port Swimmers but also between Long Beach and Port Washington/Roslyn.
On Feb. 3, the team followed up the win by capturing the Division title. Derek Knight qualified for the New York State Championship in the 100 and 200 free. Orry Zayit had already qualified for the New York State championship in the 200 Individual medley and the 100 Butterfly. For the first time ever, the Boys team qualified for states in a relay as well. The team of Orry Zayit, Ron Basak, Nicholas O’Krepke and Derek Knight qualified for states in the 200 Medley relay. However, the team’s success did not rest on only a handful of swimmers. Divisions revealed the tremendous depth of the team with team members scoring points across all events. Austin Clive brought points to the team while scoring a personal best. Josh Wojotowitz broke the 6 dive team record and George Andreadis broke the 11 dive team record. The 200 freestyle relay of Peter Epp, Brian Ma, Eric Tang and Chris DiLillo tied the team record in the 200 Freestyle relay. Schools with four state-qualifying swimmers were unsuccessful in their attempt to defeat Port Washington/Roslyn.
This was a nice follow up to a girls season when seven girls qualified for the New York State Championships. The 2017-2018 season was indeed memorable and the image of Port Washington/Roslyn swimming had forever changed. Coach Lennon told his team that he loved overhearing other coaches tell their swimmers that they should prepare because they were going to swim against Port later that week. It was clear to all the swimmers that respect was not given but earned by many hours spent training in the pool. The team now looks forward to the upcoming Nassau County Championship and New York State Championship.
