The Tamalpais High School boys varsity swim team extended their winning streak against Redwood to three years with a close win of 99 to 84 on March 26. 
     The meet remained close throughout the day. Freshman Miguel Mattox dominated the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:56.05. Sophomore Joe Weber also gave an impressive performance, winning both the 200 individual medley and the 100 backstroke.       It all came down to the final 400 freestyle relay. Senior Riley Shine, juniors Miller-Gowan and Tanner Nagy and sophomore Riley Sykes overcame some of Redwood’s fastest swimmers as they beat them by two laps to win the meet.
     “Our goal this season for the boys is quite simple: repeat like champions,” assistant coach Bob Kustel said. “The meet today was against our toughest challenger, and the win was quite significant because it shows that our guys have the talent and mental make-up to repeat as MCAL champs. They were awesome today, didn’t back down, and took care of business against a very talented Redwood team.”
     Tam (5-0) has displayed impressive performances throughout the season. On March 19 they dominated San Marin in all events winning by over 80 points with a score of 130 to 48, in a competition that several swimmers described as “no competition.”
     The real surprise came the next day during the Jaguar Invitational where junior varsity placed third out of eight and varsity placed third of 13, beating some of the best teams in the state. In previous weeks the boys also came out triumphant in their meets against Novato, Justin Sienna and Branson, leaving them undefeated.
     “We are most focused on the MCAL championships in May,” said coach Dave Beutel. “That’s the meet that determines the conference champ - so we want to be at our best for that. ”
     Boys swimming isn’t the only successful Tam aquatics team. The girls swim team has also begun a strong season.
Though they suffered an 105-81 loss to Redwood, the defeat was still seen as impressive considering the excellent performances exhibited throughout the day. Sophomore Melissa Fineman, freshman Brigette Winkler and seniors Erin Schleuter and Mattie Winkler dominated against the other swimmers to win the 200 individual medley early in the meet. The Hawks also took second, third and fourth in the 100 backstroke, but came up short overall.
     “Even though we lost, they lost a meet too, so if we win all the rest of our meets we could tie them for the dual meet championship,” Schleuter said.
     On March 19 Tam beat San Marin 118 to 68. Throughout the day there were a number of best swims. Schleuter “simply swam away from the other swimmers” in the pool in the 200 individual medley and 100 backstroke. Freshman Brigitte Winkler battled for every inch in the 200 freestyle, winning by .27 seconds, and the 500 freestyle, winning by .06 seconds, both in best times. In addition to their win against San Marin, girls swimming overcame the competition in meets against Branson, Justin Sienna and  Novato, leaving them 4-1 for the season.
     Tam’s diving team has also had an accomplished season thus far. The team’s first and only loss this year was against Redwood on March 26. Sophomore Jamie Eddy, placed first with 171 points, freshman Shoshana Herzog earned second with 161 points and sophomore Katherine Takeshita placed fourth with 132 points. Junior Kai Brewer got first for the boys and sophomore Kirk Wong third. The team won in their meets against Branson, Justin Sienna, Novato High and San Marin.

This article originally appeared in the April 2010 issue.