At Moira Fulton’s first high school meet, she was one of the first Roxbury swimmers in the water, on the backstroke leg of the medley relay. It took her older brother Thomas Fulton a little longer to catch up. At the turn, Thomas asked Gaels coach Deb Burleigh if that was his sister in the water. Told Moira was swimming, Thomas immediately started cheering. The Fultons have been swimming together — and cheering for each other — at the Randolph YMCA for five years, but being part of the Roxbury High School team is a little different.
Not only do the Gaels have multiple sets of real siblings — twins Haley and Anna Cook, Erin and Kathleen Scerra, and Jackie and Allyson Kleinsorgen — the team also has a totally unrelated big brother-sister program that matches older swimmers with newcomers to the team. Moira Fulton was paired with Roxbury senior Erin Scerra, who she’d only known through her friendship with Scerra’s real-life younger sister. Thomas Fulton, a senior co-captain, watches over freshmen AnthonyJohnston and Christian Gonzales.
“I had to show them the ropes of the swim team: how the bus works, how we do practices, and what happens at meets, the basic stuff,” Thomas Fulton said. “The big brothers didn’t start too long ago, so I told her anyway.”
Nearly every Morris County swim team has at least one set of siblings. That is partially due to the size of the programs, as well as the amount of time necessary to participate in the sport at the club level. Kevin Fulton, a junior at Morris Tech, is a diver, and youngest brother, sixth-grader William Fulton is part of the Morris County Swim Club. “It reinforces the tradition of Laker pride and what we stand for,” said Mountain Lakes senior Emily Zimmermann,
whose sister Kara is a sophomore. “It’s easier for it to be passed down, because we epitomize it.” Montville senior twins
Patrick and Peter Oppizzi sometimes swim the same events, and both admitted to a rivalry in the 50-yard freestyle. They followed another sibling, Madeleine Oppizzi, now a William Paterson sophomore, onto the Mustangs team. “It’s different, because there’s always that competition, but he’s been supporting me all these years,” said Peter Oppizzi, older by seven minutes. “He’s always by my side. He tells me the truth when he needs to. We’re kind of divided, but there’s still that rivalry.”
With the pool on-site, Morristown coach Donna Gelegonya is used to having a larger than normal swim team. But with 120 Colonials swimmers, Gelegonya has had to make some adjustments this winter. Morristown has three almost-daily practice sessions, with every swimmer required to attend at least one. Senior Danny Lopinto is usually part of the morning shift, which hits the water at 6 a.m., more than 90 minutes before classes start.
Morristown also holds practice right after school at 2:45 p.m., and a later session at 4:15 p.m., with the three coaches and two volunteer assistants rotating between them. “Thinning out our numbers” allows more individualized attention, Gelegonya said. Assistant coach Bobby Sparano said the Colonials “have gotten more distance in practice than we’ve had in a long time.” The only negative so far has been decreased team bonding, but Morristown still holds occasional full-team practices after school.
“Getting up early, lots of people know what kind of person you are, so dedicated,” said Lopinto, who goes to bed at 9:30 p.m. before morning sessions. “If you want to succeed, you’re sacrificing an extra hour of sleep to do better.”
Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; [email protected]; www.dailyrecord.com/ writerjane/
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