The West Hartford Aquatic Team has been earning accolades and turning in record performances.

WHAT swimmers at the 2015 banquet. Submitted photo

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The 2014-2015 season was a splash for WHAT Swimming. The team, founded by Katie and Rob Riccobon in 2007, has come a long way from their humble beginnings. Their motto is simple: “Success is in the Details,” and with a fifth place finish out of 40 teams at the Connecticut Swimming Age Group Long Course Championships, it appears WHAT was paying a lot of attention to the details.

WHAT Swimming is nationally ranked in the top 13 percent of the 2,500 registered USA swim clubs in the United States and currently ranked eighth out of 57 clubs in Connecticut by USA Swimming’s Virtual Club Championship program.

“We are very proud of our swimmers. They put in a lot of hard work and the results were well earned,” said Head Coach Rob Riccobon. “We believe a dedicated swimmer, a loving and supportive parent(s), and a hard working coaching staff are the ingredients for fast swimming and we have the right mixture brewing at WHAT.”

This September WHAT embarked on their ninth short course season. WHAT is a member of USA Swimming and Connecticut Swimming. The team trains out of the University of Saint Joseph (West Hartford) and Miss Porter’s School (Farmington). WHAT owner and team administrator Katie Riccobon said, “We teach all our swimmers the importance of self-responsibility and give them the skill sets necessary to achieve their goals.”

WHAT Swimming was recently recognized by Connecticut Swimming with the placement of 31 swimmers on their annual Top 16 Performance list for the 2014-2015 Short and Long Course Seasons. All of the listed athletes received their awards at the CT Swimming Top 16 Awards Banquet held at the Aqua Turf on Nov. 2, 2015.

“The number of WHAT athletes and the variety of strokes in which they have qualified show the dedication of the athletes and the coaching staff,” says head age group coach Jim Santiago, who has been coaching with Rob Riccobon for the past ten years.

WHAT Swimmers who swam a Top 16 in the state time were: Oliver Akers, Victoria Apuzzo, Michael Baldini, Kate Bell, Clara Capone, Marissa Chow, Ailey Driscoll, John Gallant, Christina Guertain, Matthew Gwozdecke, Kimberly Hylan, Quinn Mitchell, Jake Nelson, Emma Nordquist, Mikel Palaj, Charles Perks, Owen Perks, Katharine Pillion, Alexandra Poole, Sarah Preleski, Jaee Raut, John Rinald, Amber Rocheleau, Celeste Salopek, Harrison Saperstein, Nancy Scanlon, Brett Sheldrick, Aidan Surian, Allison Surian and Erica Woods.

The WHAT swimmers were not only achieving success in the pool, but in the classroom as well, being nominated for six CT Swimming scholar athletes awards. Swimmers must meet the following criteria to be considered for this prestigious honor:

WHAT Scholar-Athlete recipients at the 2015 banquet. Submitted photo

• Completed 10^th, 11^th or 12^th grade
• Maintain a 3.5 out of 4.0 GPA for the entire 2014-2015 Academic Year

Receiving recognition at this year’s CT swimming Top 16 Banquet are: Matthew Gwozdecke (3-year recepient), Kimberly Hylan, Owen Perks, Sarah Preleski, John Rinald, and Erica Woods. “The WHAT organization impresses upon our athletes the importance of academics and we are very proud of our swimmers,” said Riccobon.

In addition to the awards listed above WHAT Swimming was also awarded:

• 15-18 Women’s Team High Point Award for Long Course Age Group Championship
  

  15-18 age group winners. Submitted photo

• 15-18 Men’s Team High Point Award for Short Course Age Group Championship
• Mikel Palaj was awarded the Individual Distance High Point Award for the Short Course and Long Course Championship
• Dani Rocheleau was awarded to the Individual High Point Award for the Women’s 15-18 Age Group at the Long Course Championships

WHAT swimming began attending meets at the end of October. At this point Riccobon says, “We are swimming fast, by training each day and paying attention to the details.”

During the season, news and results about WHAT Swimming can be found on the official team website: www.whatswim.org.

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