In his eight years in charge of the Cornell swim team, Kevin Robertson has seen a lot. However, he still has the excitement of the sport, and the hope that he can lead this team, which has a co-op agreement with Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, to better itself.
Talking about the early part of the team’s season, Robertson spoke about the struggles of getting a team like this up and running.
“It’s tough starting out this time of year, especially with flu season,” Robertson explained. “So with some kids they miss a week of practice, which can be really tough. But we’re getting through it.”
In terms of depth, Robertson said, “We could always use a couple more boys, to be honest. Girls have pretty good numbers, though. Still have one girl working out her paperwork. For girls we should end up with about 12; for boys we’ll have around six.”
Still, Robertson spoke with confidence about the swimmers he does have available. Starting with the boys side, the coach first pointed toward sophomore Noah Pickett as a co-op performer.
“He’s one of our best swimmers — he’s good all-around,” Robertson explained.
“He made championship finals in one event in states last year, and consolation finals in another. He was a little sick at the time, but he still did good enough to get there.”
Robertson also beamed when talking about the girls team and its swimmers, starting with freshman Mimi Chamberlain.
“She should have a good season,” he said. “She’s already ended up with some impressive times. We’re looking for good things from her.”
The team’s only seniors are Gianna Mosca on the girls side and PJ Hawkins on the boys side. “So hopefully they’ll give us some experience,” he said.
In the short term, Robertson’s team is preparing for a double dual meet with Beaver and Ellis Thursday.
“That should be an exciting one,” he said. “Ellis will be a sectional meet for the girls, and Beaver will be just a regular meet. We’re also swimming this weekend at the West Allegheny Christmas Invitational, so we’re getting ready for that as well.”
Robertson has a positive attitude heading into the season and is hopeful that his team can make waves this year.
“Hopefully, by the end of the season, we’ll have some swimmers making the (Class) AA WPIAL championships,” he said.
“I’m happy with the team overall. We’ve got some swimmers pushing their personal best, and that’s about all you can ask for.”
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