Girls varsity swimmers no longer disqualified from CCS
With the Central Coast Section playoffs coming up right around the corner, the girls varsity swimmers were practicing their racing technique eagerly, unaware of the misfortune that would soon occur.
Freshman Michelle Chan, sophomore Tammy Yau, juniors Nicolet Danese and Tiffany Do and senior Chelsea Fong qualified for CCS playoffs by swimming faster than the set time standard. Unfortunately, a mishap occurred when coach Don Vierra entered in their events, disqualifying the Lady Matadors from competing in CCS and ending their league season abruptly.
"Our season is over, randomly," Danese said. "It's disappointing because you get ready the whole season for CCS. We had fun at leagues, and it was still a memorable season, but it just didnt end the way we wanted to."
Vierra had thought he sent in the events to the CCS committee by the May 16, 11 a.m. deadline, but the email had actually been stored in his drafts after he closed the window. Although he discovered this mistake at 7 p.m. that evening, the program was already made, and there was nothing the CCS committee could do to squeeze the Lady Matadors' events in.
"I'm devastated that my oversight has negatively affected the lives of my student-athletes," Vierra said.
"I think Don took the hardest hit," Chan said. "He's taking it really hard on himself, but we all know that it was an accident. When he told us on Monday, I could tell by his tone that he was really sorry."
Despite this upset, the Lady Matadors will still have a walk-on meet on May 23 to look forward to. This non-league meet is a more relaxed meet with not as much competition, but it will allow the girls varsity swim team to finish their successful year together.
Updated on May 23
On May 21, the morning of the CCS swim meet, each of the five qualifying members of the girls varsity swim team received green slips requesting them to report to principal April Scott. It turns out that they would be able to compete in CCS in just a few years hours after all.
A male swimmer from another high school (both sources wish to remain anonymous) filed a lawsuit against the CCS association when he was disqualified from competing after his coach failed to send in the event forms — a similar misfortune that the Lady Mats could relate to. The court decided that the boy should not be punished for his coach's mistake and was thus allowed to compete that afternoon. Because of this verdict, all other swimmers originally disqualified for the same reasons had their disqualifications withdrawn and were allowed to compete.
Though initially confused by this last-minute change, the five girls representing MVHS hastily donned their swimsuits and went out to compete. Though most of them had not been in the water for a week after their first notice of disqualification, the Lady Mats still made quite a splash in the competition, placing 14th out of 33 participating schools. Fong did especially well, placing second in both her 100 and 200 yard freestyle events, truly giving it her all in the final CCS competition of her high school career.
