2005 Scotch Plains Boys Swimming Preview

When the Scotch Plains Fanwood (SPF) Boys Swimming team faces Westfield this Wednesday at the Westfield YMCA, it will not only be the resumption of a great rivalry but a chance for the Raiders to test themselves against one of the state’s perennial powers that is expected to be strong again this year.

“Our boys are very young. Only six are juniors or seniors. To swim a team like Westfield early in the year is really a big test,” said Coach Jessica Hulnik.

It will give our younger swimmers an early look as to the type of competition they will see later this year. It will also provide a base for the returning swimmers in that they can compare their times from those last year at this point of the season.”

“ It would be great to beat them but it is also important that we swim a good meet against them and give them a good run,” said senior co-captain David Hauptman.



The younger brother of 2003 co-captain Ryan Hauptman, David and fellow senior co-captain Mike Sheffield are two of the biggest reasons that Hulnik is optimistic about this years’ team.

“David and Mike are really strong swimmers and they should both have a wonderful season ,” said Hulnik, starting her third season as both boys and girls coach at SPF.

“We have great leadership in David and Mike. They will set the tone for the season. We have over half the squad returning so they know exactly what is expected of them, and they understand where this team wants to be at the end of the season ,” added Hulnik.

Although they are brothers, the Hauptmans rarely completed against each other because they swam different strokes. Ryan’s best event was the backstroke and David specializes in the freestyle, where he was one of the county’s top sprinters, finishing second to Westfield all-state swimmer Ryan Bartholomew in the 50-yard free style. Hauptman made the Meet of Champions in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.

“He was a bit of an influence on me because we were always around each other but we both did our own things because we did different strokes ,” said Hauptman, whose mother teaches and coaches at the Scotch Plains YMCA.

There will be a good amount of familiarity at this Wednesday’s meet because so many of the swimmers compete against each other at local club meets. The year round dedication of her swimmers’ is what makes Hulnik so optimistic as the season begins.

“The majority of them, even the ones that do not swim year round, have grown up swimming at the local summer swim clubs before joining the high school team. That is also one of the reasons we tend to do so well ,” said Hulnik.

While there is a multitude of experienced swimmers abetted by several talented freshmen, Hulnik is pleased to
have Sheffield and Hauptman to lead the team.

“David is a freestyle sprinter but also can do pretty much any event on the meet sheet. Mike is mostly a butterflier and a breaststroker who had a great season last year and is looking to repeat ,” said Hulnik.

In addition to the co-captains, senior freestyler and breaststroker Alan Neuhauser, Juniors Mike Fragna,(backstroke) and Jason Thompson (Butterfly) and sophomores Mike Miller, Matt Miller, and Dan Nieto. as well as freshmen. Jon Feely and Brian Pesin should also contribute.


Hulnik is impressed at her teams’ work ethic.
“All of our kids work very hard in practice and they are willing to put the team first.” said Hulnik.

“From what I've seen at practice, I think our returning swimmers will be significantly faster than they were at this time last year. Since most of the boys dropped quite a bit a time at the end of last season, the early meets will also serve as a motivational tool the kids can use at practice during he rest of the season. While we may struggle a bit early in the season, I feel when it comes down to counties and states, we will be ready to swim fast.”

The coach is non-committal at making any major predictions only saying “I think we will do well at the counties and states. Sorry so vague, but I never predict a season.”