FAST START: Princeton High girls’ swimmer Abbey Berloco displays her freestyle form in a race last year. Sophomore sprint star Berloco helped PHS defeat WW/P-S 121-49 last Thursday, winning the  50 and 100 freestyle races and helping PHS take first in both the 200 medley and 400 free relays. The Little Tigers, who improved to 2-0 with the win, have meets at WW/P-N on December 10 and at Steinert on December 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Abbey Berloco enjoyed a sensational freshman campaign last winter for the Princeton High girls’ swimming team.

The sprinting star earned the girls’ Most Valuable Swimmer award at the Mercer County Championships, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle races as PHS won its third straight county crown and then helped the Little Tigers win the Public B Central Jersey sectional title and advance to the B state final, where they fell 100-70 to Scotch Plains-Fanwood.

While that success has put a bull’s eye on Berloco’s back as she enters her sophomore season, she isn’t fazed.

“I don’t feel pressure,” said Berloco. “I feel motivated because last year as a team we all did so well, it would just be really great to match that level of last year.”

The Little Tigers looked great last Thursday as they rolled to a 121-49 win over perennial power and rival WW/P-S and improved to 2-0.

“I think that we all did really well,” said Berloco. “We have been training hard. We all swam really strong today and we were all really motivated. Everyone was on the pool deck cheering so that is always good to see.”

Berloco, for her part, breezed to victory in the 50 and 100 freestyle races and helped PHS take first in both the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

“I felt really strong in my sprints,” said Berloco. “That is really what I have been working on at practice so I was hoping to do well on those.”

Building on her freshman season, Berloco is fine-tuning things this winter to become a more versatile performer.

“This year I have mostly been working on my technique and my endurance,” said Berloco, who also competes for Hamilton Aquatic Club.

“Last year, I started off with the speed and I wanted to build from there. I am starting to work on going longer distance races so that is one of my bigger goals this season. I have asked Coach Miz (PHS head coach Carly Misiewicz) if I can be put in the 500 because it is something that I rarely get a chance to swim. High school swimming is a really good opportunity to be able to swim it in a lower pressure environment.”

PHS head coach Misiewicz likes the maturity she is seeing from Berloco this season, in and out of the water.

“Abbey has stepped up in that leadership position, she is no longer a freshman, waiting for everyone else to tell her what to do,” said Misiewicz.

“Now she is saying can I do this or how can I help out here, what can I do here. She is a positive force. At one of her recent club meets, she swam the 1,000 for the first time ever and she was really happy with it so she came up to me and said I want to try the 500 a couple times this year and I said definitely, let’s do it. She is trying to become a more versatile swimmer rather than just saying hey I am really good at the 50 and the 100 so let’s stick with that. She is really trying to make herself more well rounded.”

PHS got very good efforts from two of its other stars in the win over WW/P-S as junior Melinda Tang won the 200 free and 100 butterfly while senior Madeleine Deardorff prevailed in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke.

“I think they swam very well today,” said Misiewicz, who also got a pair of wins from Jamie Liu, the first-place finisher in both the 500 free and 100 backstroke.

“Maddie has been very happy with how her breaststroke has come along. She has been working on her backstroke more. She is trying to decide on schools so she has a million and one things going on right now but you can tell that her heart and passion are still into this team. They have bought into it, they believe in the team.”

Misiewicz liked the depth her team displayed against the Pirates. “It is nice to see we can throw all the lanes and everyone is in good spots,” added Misiewicz.

“We are still trying to figure out with the freshmen and the new sophomores and juniors, where do they belong, where do they fit and what are their strengths and weaknesses. Overall we really came together like a team today.”

Another key strength for PHS is its customary upbeat spirit on the deck.

“This is the first time we have all been together as a team with our club swimmers and the the high school swimmers,” said Misiewicz.

“Everybody is behind each other, everyone is cheering each other on, whether they are in lane three or lane one, whether they are on one relay or they are doing four events. I am really, really happy with their showing today.”

The Little Tiger boys hung together against WW/P-S, battling hard as they fell 102-68.

“I just want them to really not worry about the score and not pay attention to that; we need to swim our own race and do our own thing,” said Misiewicz, reflecting on the effort put in by her boys’ squad.

“We have to work with what we have to work with and that is all you can do. We are a team that needs to stick together. If something doesn’t go our way, it doesn’t mean that the meet is over. I thought we were well into it, we didn’t give up. No one was saying oh man they won it, let’s just throw in the towel and let them go 1-2-3 in everything. The biggest thing I try to stress and emphasize with them is don’t give up, it isn’t over until it is over.”

Misiewicz is relying on her veterans to help the squad maintain that focus, citing seniors Stephen Kratzer, Christian Chiang, and David Cohen as key leaders.

“Kratzer has become a standout over the past two years, he is a hard worker,” said Misiewicz, who got wins from Chiang in the 200 IM and 100 breast against WW/P-S as the PHS boys moved to 1-1.

“Christian Chiang has definitely stepped up into a leadership role this year, being a senior and a captain on the team. He is like coach what do we need to do, yes he asks what the score is but just so he knows who do I need to get going, who do I need to get fired up. They are my go-to guys. David Cohen is another. I can really rely on them, I give them a look to say go get them ready and they know exactly what they have to do. There is not much I have to do.”

Looking ahead, Misiewicz acknowledges that the Little Tiger girls have their sights set on doing some big things.

“At the beginning of the season, we sat down and had a meeting with the girls’ and guys’ teams separately,” said Misiewicz, whose program has meets at WW/P-N on December 10 and at Steinert on December 15.

“I said to the girls, what are our goals, what do we want to get this year and the first thing they said was the state finals, not to just make it there but to win it this year. Seeing the girls in the outside lanes stepping up today, getting the second, thirds, and fourths, it is huge. That is what it is going to come down to.”

Berloco, for her part, believes that having their eyes on that prize will serve as motivation for the team through the winter.

“We are really hoping to get back there and we all have just been working really hard,” said Berloco.

“We all have that goal in mind and it has been pushing all of us through practice and through the season.”