TOP SWIMMER: Fountain Valley's Cynthia Fascella dominated in the freestyle all season. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER |
Fountain Valley's Fascella is top female swimmer
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The CIF champion in the 50 and 100 freestyle leads the all-county selections.
Half-a-second. It doesn't seem like much time but in a short race such as the 50-yard freestyle, it's significant.
No swimmer at the CIF Division I finals knew that better than Cynthia Fascella.
The Fountain Valley sophomore dropped .49 seconds from her previous best in the 50 to claim the race in a sizzling 23.08 seconds.
"It was a huge breakthrough for me," Fascella said.
The performance sparked more improvement and before Fascella's night at Belmont Plaza ended, she had built an impressive bookend for a dominating season.
For her efforts, Fascella is The Register's female swimmer of the year.
Fascella also dropped time in the 100 freestyle at the Division I meet, helping her become the only girl to capture two events.
She shaved almost a second from her previous best to claim the title in swift 50.68 seconds.
Fascella later validated her 50 by leading off the Barons' victorious 200 free relay in 23.22.
And while she claimed silver and bronze at Masters, Fascella stayed ahead of her county rivals.
Outside of Masters, she lost only one individual race – a 100 backstroke duel against teammate and dorsal specialist Alex Huynen in a dual meet.
"It went really well," Fascella said of her season. "I'm glad my hard work paid off."
Fascella's 23.08 ranks her fourth on the county's all-time list in the two-lap race and seventh in the nation this high school year among reported times. She ranks seventh on the county's all-time list in the 100 free.
Fascella entered the season as a swimmer to watch but wasn't a major contender for swimmer of the year. She didn't own, for example, a Junior Nationals qualifying time.
But she took care of that this spring and is now trying to qualify for next month's Olympic Trials.
"She's the most improved swimmer we have," said Bob Gillett, Fascella's coach with Golden West Swim Club.
(See more of Cynthia Fascella's swimming stats)
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
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