Welcome to the Pittsford Boys Swimming and Diving team web site.   

2012 SECTION V CLASS A CHAMPIONS! 

Head Coach - Mark Morris
Assistant Coach - Rick Schmitt
Diving Coach - Duane Green

Captains for the 2011-12 season are Chris Dawson, Morgan Marin and Josh Kapilivsky.

Monroe County Division 1 Champions: 1998-99, 1999-00, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09  2009-10 2010-11 - 8 Consecutive Years! 

Section 5 Class A Champions: 1997-98, 1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-2011, 2011-2012 - 10 Consecutive Years!

New York State NISCA Power Points/Dual Meet Ranking
#1: 1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11

#2: 2007-08, 2008-09 (Tie), 2009-10 (Tie)

National NISCA Power Point Ranking (Class 3 Boys Public 1401-1900):
1996 - 5, 1997 - 4, 1998 - 1, 1999 - 3, 2000 - 5, 2001 - 5, 2002 - 2, 2003 - ?, 2004 - 3, 2005 - 6, 2006 - 8, 2007 - 3, 2008 - 4, 2009 - 4, 2010 - 8, 2011 - 16 (Class 4 over 1900)

73 Varsity dual meet winning streak  (1/16/03 through 12/19/09) ended with 101.5 to 84.5 loss to NYS #1 ranked Shenendehowa. 84 meet Varsity Monroe County dual meet winning streak end with 94-92 loss to Fairport on 01/14/2012.

Current varsity dual meet winning streak:  2 (1/17/2012 -

Go to http://www.pittsfordswimming.shutterfly.com/ to see pictures.

BUFFALO — Jeffrey Williamson and Evan Zheng spent last year’s New York State Swimming & Diving Championships peering up at the winner on the medal platform.

The view from the top step was much more enjoyable on Saturday.

Williamson, a Victor junior, won the public title in the 500-yard freestyle in an All-America Consideration mark of 4:32.97 and Zheng, a senior at Fairport, teamed with classmate John Holden and juniors David Howard and Charlie Morales to claim first in the public rankings in the 200 freestyle relay (1:25.94) at Burt Flickinger Athletic Center.

The quartet also took second in the 200 medley relay (1:35.25) and 400 freestyle relay (3:10) “I’ve always been standing there a step or two below the winners at the awards ceremony,” said Zheng, who is headed to Yale and was a cog in three top-four relay finishes for the Red Raiders in 2011.

“It’s awesome standing up there,” said Williamson, who also snagged second in the 200 freestyle (1:40.00). “That’s what I’ve worked for my entire swimming career for since I was 7 years old.”

Williamson was bested by two exquisite performances by Canisius sophomore Jack Boyd for the Federation crowns. Boyd swam All-America times of 1:38.27 and 4:30.31 in the 200 and 500 freestyle relays, respectively.

“It’s nice that I was first in the public schools,” admitted the 2010-11 All-Greater Rochester Swimmer of the Year. “But as a competitor you don’t view it as first unless you’re the first to touch the wall. (Boyd) is an incredible swimmer and a great rival so hopefully we can continue the rivalry and I will progress next year.”

Junior Matt Tanchick of Pittsford took second in the 200 individual medley (1:54.05) and swam a personal-best 57.79 to earn third place in the 100 breaststroke.

Section V finished second to Section I and grabbed 11 top-five spots.

The meet was highlighted by two state records, including co-champions in the 400 freestyle relay. Tappan Zee-I and Fordham Prep each sprinted to 3:06.99 performances, shaving nearly a full second off the 19-year-old mark. The standing-room only crowd darted their heads toward the scoreboard and roared in unison when the identical digits popped up. Victor’s Brian Shanahan yelled, “That was the best finish I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” as swimmers whipped out their cameras to take pictures of the screen.

That wasn’t the only perfect finish. “Our team has had pretty good camaraderie and all push each other to succeed six times a week at practice and the entire offseason,” said Zheng, who carries a 99 average, aced the ACT and was honored as the State Meet Scholar Athlete. “It’s pretty rewarding to go out as a senior on the top of the stage.”

Despite having the top seed in several events, and a nine-year streak as sectional champion, Pittsford boys swimming head coach Mark Morris came into the Section 5 Class A finals with plenty of anxiety.

“I wasn’t sure we were going to get to number 10,” Morris said.

The team who was causing the long-time Panther coach sleepless nights? Fairport, who handed Pittsford their only loss in a dual meet this winter.

The Red Raiders dished out everything they could to the Panthers but in the end, the Section 5 trophy was heading back to Pittsford for another year.

The Panthers scored 471 points to take first at Saturday’s finals at the Webster Aquatic Center. Pittsford was lead by junior Matt Tanchick, who earned swimmer of the meet after winning the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke and was part of two second-place relays.

“Sectionals is something we always try to get up for,” Morris said. “The kids swam well, good prelims and fantastic today. I am real proud of the relays, and all of the kids efforts today.”

The Panthers have used their depth to build their reputation as the best program in Section 5. This was on display Saturday as Pittsford had at least one athlete finish in the top-five in each race.

After narrowly losing to Fairport in the opening 200 medley relay, Patirck Ransford won the 200 free. Ransford later won the 500 free in dominating fashion taking first by over 15 seconds and earning All-American consideration after finishing in 4:35.97.

“Our team really pulled together,” Tanchick said. “It was a great thing to win my races, but it was even better to have someone pushing me hard in both my races. They really helped me get to where I needed to be today.”

The Red Raiders pushed the Panthers the entire afternoon as Charlie Morales, John Holden, Alex LaPoint and David Howard edged Pittsford’s relay by six tenths of a second in the opening race. Senior Evan Zheng punched his ticket to states by winning the 100 free (46.99).

Morales came back to overtake the field and win the 100 back in 53.53. Morales, Zheng, LaPoint and Richard Waterhouse closed out the meet by winning the 400 free relay (3:13.47).

“I was really nervous, I was really scared because I didn’t think we were going to win,” Morales said about the relay. “We went out as hard as we could and it was great to win. We were very happy.”

Penfield’s Jason Gerlach gave Tanchick a run for swimmer of the meet as the senior earned the 100 fly title and teamed with Joe Mulvehill, Jeff Doser and Chris Gnam to win the 200 free relay. Brockport freshman Nick Olson held off Howard to win the 50 free in 21.83.

“It felt good to know that I could put a great time out there and win today,” Gerlach said about his performance in the 100 fly. “Winning the 200 free relay was nuts. We went in just hoping to get a best time, and to win is a consolation.”

WEBSTER — The way that Matt Tanchick explained it after the Section V Class A Boys Swimming Championships, there were two ways he and his Pittsford teammates could have looked at the rematch of sorts with Fairport.

One, was uh-oh. Pittsford went the other way.

“This year it was more important,’’ Tanchick said Saturday at the Webster Aquatic Center. “We lost that meet to Fairport. “This was a chance to show what Pittsford is really made of. We did a great job of that.’’

Pittsford pulled away from Fairport to win the Class A sectional title or its equivalent for the 10th consecutive year. Tanchick, a junior at Pittsford Mendon, was named the meet’s outstanding swimmer after he produced two times for All-America consideration.

The 2011 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester team member also was the outstanding swimmer at last season’s Class A sectional meet.

“It’s a huge deal to be able to say that,’’ Tanchick said. “There’s definitely some fierce competition.’’

Tanchick’s swim of 1 minute, 52.37 seconds in the 200-yard individual medley reset the Section V record, after Fairport’s Jon Roberts went 1:52.55 nine years ago.

The 100 breaststroke of 57.81 by Tanchick was a dominant performance. The next four finishers swam qualifying times for the state meet, but Tanchick was the only one under a minute.

“It’s pretty impressive,’’ Pittsford Mendon sophomore Patrick Ransford said. “It helps to have someone like that to swim with everyday.’’

Ransford was the winner of the 200 (1:41.98) and 500 (4:35.97) freestyle finals. A one-two finish in diving by Dylan Marin and Sam Randall also helped Pittsford score 471.5 points.

Fairport, the runner-up, finished with 401. The Red Raiders raised the possibility of a new sectional champion after they edged Pittsford 94-92 a month ago at Fairport. That ended an 84-league meet win streak for Pittsford.

“I wasn’t sure we would get to No. 10,’’ Pittsford coach Mark Morris said about the team’s string of sectional titles.

Fairport’s 200 medley relay of Charlie Morales, John Holden, Alex LaPoint and David Howard then opened the sectionals with a first-place finish.

“It was good to get a win, a good tempo,’’ Morales said. “I wished it could have carried through. A meet is a meet, things happen.

“Our team gave it our all. It was the best time of my life beating Pittsford. When we came here, we wanted to win, but Pittsford put together a good performance.’’

Morales, this time with LaPoint, Evan Zheng and Richard Waterhouse in the 400 free relay, helped Fairport close with a win. They swam 3:13.47 in lane seven of eight.

Penfield’s 200 free relay of Joe Mulvehill, Jeff Doser, 100 butterfly sectional champion Jason Gerlach and Chris Gnam set a school record during their victory in 1:27.74.

“We did exactly what we wanted and we got the win along with that,’’ Gerlach said. “That is something like the cherry on top of the ice cream.’’

Brockport freshman Nick Olson won the 50 freestyle to become the team’s first state qualifier in six years and sectional champion in 14 years, according to former coach Scott Fake.

A total of 32 individuals or relays beat state meet cut times during the preliminaries alone, including Wilson junior Liam Fitzstevens, a third-place finisher in the 100 backstroke final.

“This will be one of the strongest teams we’ll take in awhile,’’ Section V boys swimming and diving coordinator Keith Sheilds said to the qualifiers. “We’re going to make our mark.’’

Section V Class A Boys Swimming Championships At Webster Aquatic Center Team scores: Pittsford 471.5 points, Fairport 401, Penfield 201, Webster 175, Brockport 171, Rush-Henrietta 153.5, McQuaid 149, Spencerport 144, Gates Chili 131, Greece 91, Hilton 82, Wilson 69, Churchville-Chili 28, East/School of the Arts 16, Monroe/Edison 14.

Top finishers 200-yard medley relay: 1, Fairport (Charlie Morales, John Holden, Alex LaPoint, David Howard) 1 minute, 37.12 seconds; 2, Pittsford 1:37.18; 3, Rush-Henrietta 1:41.15. 200 freestyle: 1, Patrick Ransford (Pittsford) 1:41.98; 2, Evan Zheng (Fairport) 1:43.36; 3, Morales (Fairport) 1:44.63; 200 individual medley: 1, Matt Tanchick (Pittsford) 1:52.37; 2, Jason Gerlach (Penfield) 1:55.93; 3, Kevin Tobey (McQuaid) 1:55.98; 50 freestyle: 1, Nick Olson (Brockport) 21.83; 2, David Howard (Fairport) 21.87; 3, Sam Rice (Fairport) 21.91; 100 butterfly: 1, Gerlach (Penfield) 51.58; 2, Tobey (McQuaid) 52.86; 3, LaPoint (Fairport) 53.65; 100 freestyle: 1, Zheng (Fairport) 46.99; 2, Joe Mulvehill (Penfield) 48.35; 3, Rice (Fairport) 48.60; 500 freestyle: 1, Ransford 4:35.97; 2, Chris Garman (Webster) 4:51.61; 3, Trevor McCrobie (Pittsford) 4:53.96; 200 free relay: 1, Penfield (Mulvehill, Jeff Doser, Gerlach, Chris Gnam) 1:27.74; 2, Pittsford 1:27.86; 3, Brockport 1:29.98; 100 backstroke: 1, Morales (Fairport) 53.53; 2, Shea Ransford (Pittsford) 54.63; 3, Liam Fitzstevens (Wilson) 55.52; 100 breaststroke: 1, Tanchick (Pittsford) 57.81 (Section V record, All-America Consideration) 57.81; 2, Brett Eslinger (Pittsford) 1:00.14; 3, Tom Kirch (Rush-Henrietta) 1:00.67; 400 free relay: 1, Fairport (LaPoint, Zheng, Richard Waterhouse, Morales) 3:13.47; 2, Pittsford 3:15.97; 3, Penfield 3:16.36. Outstanding swimmer: Matt Tanchick (Pittsford). Coach of the year: Mike Kennedy (Fairport). Monroe County awards/sportsmanship: Evan Zheng (Fairport), Jeff Doser (Penfield), Morgan Marin (Pittsford), Jordan Gay (Rush-Hnerietta), Chris Garman (Webster), Spencer Naab (Churchville-Chili), Kevin Sullivan (Gates Chili), Pat Koenig (Greece), Kevin Snell (Hilton) Austin Nau (Spencerport). Monroe County league swimmer of the year: Jeff Williamson (Victor). Division I: Matt Tanchick (Pittsford). Division II: Dean Mondy (Brockport). Division III: Ben Chappell (Victor).

Pittsford is off to a fast start in defense of its Section 5 and Monroe County Champion titles. They kicked off the season with two home wins against Irondequoit (111-60) and Hilton (99-78).

On Tuesday, against Irondequoit, they started with a 1-2-3 finish in the 200 yard Medley Relay to sweep the points. Their good form continued throughout the meet. Matt Tanchick and Will Dawson were both double winners. Tanchick in the 200 yard Free (1:47:46) and the 100 Back (56:70). Dawson triumphed in the 50 Free (23:70) and 100 Breast (1:02:70), just missing the state cut. In event 6 PJ Ransford demonstrated his versatility in the 200 Individual Medley, by achieving the first state cut of the season at 2:00:07. Other individual winners were Brett Eslinger in 100 Fly (57:24), Austin Ling in 100 Free (50:98) and Shea Ransford in 500 Free (5:02:85). Pittsford Divers were impressive with Sam Randall and Dylan Marin twisting and turning through the air and entering the water gracefully. The result was a narrow victory for Marin (217.05) just outscoring Randall (213.25). The team is again coached by Mark Morris, assisted by Rick Schmitt and Duane Green (diving). Recently elected captains are seniors Josh Kapilivsky, Morgan Marin and Chris Dawson.

On Thursday Pittsford hosted Hilton, coach Morris mixed up the swimmers into different events and the result was another convincing win. Coach Morris said after the meet "We are experimenting with our line-up as we move in to our league schedule in January. We are looking forward to our primary work cycle during the winter break."

The Junior Varsity team was also in impressive early season form showing a deep bench that on other teams would be Varsity. Many of them have already swam sectional qualifying times and are continuing the rich heritage of Pittsford swimming.

Against Hilton Pittsford started with a 1-2-3 in the 200 Medley Relay. Will Dawson won the 200 Free (1:51:47), followed by Trevor McCrobie and Jack Thiemel. In the 200 IM it was the turn of Brett Eslinger (2:13:03), Tim Hart and Roddy Hughes. Next up was the 50 Free Timo Krapf (24:24) touched first, followed by Josh Kapilivsky and Scott Mayall came in fourth. In the 100 Butterfly Matt Tanchick flew through the water and collected his first state time in 53.88, swimming in his wake were Charlie Harrington and Vincent Criscuolo. In the 100 Free PJ Ransford returned to the pool in 50.14, followed closely by Trevor McCrobie (51.86) and Chris Dawson (54.20).

In the 500 Free Pittsford switched to exhibition. Josh Kapilivsky touched first (5:25:77), followed by Roddy Hughes and Chris McPherson fifth. Pittsford swam exhibition for the remainder of the meet with impressive showings in the 200 Free and 400 Free Relays. Between the two relays PJ Ransford won the 100 Back in 57:65 with his elder brother, Shea Ransford, winning the 100 Breast (1:05:21).

In Diving it was another nip and tuck battle between Dylan Marin and Sam Randall. Marin came out on top with some fantastic dives. It is going to be a fun season watching these two divers battle for supremacy. Pittsford has a strong team of divers, with good performances from Chris Lillis, Ben Goodfriend, Michael Thiemel, Sean Riley, and Charlie Mack.

This week Pittsford went to the Owego Invitational and return to their home pool on Thursday versus Churchville-Chili

Pittsford wins Water Polo title in Thrilling Style

Pittsford, N.Y. — In a thrilling final game Pittsford Boys Swimming and Diving Team won the water polo invitational tournament it hosted last weekend. More than 200 swimmers from 8 local teams competed in the tournament over two days. The teams and spectators raised money for the American Diabetes Association. The tournament was first held in 1973 by Pittsford’s first swim coach, Fred Rockow as a response to his own sons diabetic condition. Combining team donations and admission receipts, the benefit netted more than $2,600 to help send diabetic children to summer camp.

Mark Morris the Pittsford Panthers head coach commented that "the focus of the weekend was to raise money for diabetes. The skill level is continuing to improve in Monroe County and some clubs are now starting to spring up so that the players can continue to develop. It was an exciting final game." The competition has become the unofficial opener of the boys’ swimming and diving season, and is intended to promote fun and good sportsmanship in addition to raising money.

On Friday, Webster and Fairport advanced to the semifinals over Victor and Greece in morning competition, while Penfield and Pittsford eliminated Gates Chili and McQuaid in the afternoon session.

Play started on Saturday with an alumni game, where many players from the last 38 years came out for an exhibition game. This game was followed by Pittsford defeating Webster (17-1) and Fairport defeating Penfield (24-5). In the consolation match Penfield held off Webster in a close match eventually winning 9-3 to secure third place. Penfield had been a finalist for the previous three years.

The final match was highly anticipated. Both teams had high expectations and were looking to establish themselves. Pittsford came out strong in the first period and jumped out to a 3-1 lead, Fairport came storming back and built a 4-3 lead, but Pittsford was not going to be denied and tied it up at half time 4-4. The packed swimming pool was loud and the Fairport fans were in full voice. In the third period the Pittsford underclassmen again came out strong and scored 5 goals with no reply from Fairport (9-4). In the final period the upperclassmen battled for superiority and fought for every loose ball. The teams traded goals, but Fairport could not close the gap and Pittsford held on to win 13-7. The game ended with warm handshakes and tired swimmers ready for the upcoming swim season.

Following the game, one of the Pittsford swimmers remarked "When you have games like this, against Fairport, our athletes were able to uphold the tradition of Pittsford - it was a team effort. It was an admirable fight."

Coach Morris expressed appreciation for the participating teams and for the many volunteers who contributed their time and talents over the busy holiday weekend. Officials included Scott Shields, Ralph Simpson, Doug Garnam, Kurt Schwarz, Aram Salehi, Andrea Zucchiatti, and Dr. Stefan Lucas. Caroline McPherson and Linda Locke ran the concessions stand, and fundraising efforts were coordinated by Nomi Kapilivsky. Morris also thanked members of the Pittsford Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving Team for running the clock and keeping score.

The boys swim season is off to a great start with all of the teams practicing hard. Pittsford is seeking its 10th successive sectional title. Their first meet is on December 6 at Mendon High School vs Irondequoit.