The North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team is back in the pool following an eventful and successful run through the postseason last year. Ken Pierson returns to the head coach’s role that he had previously held on two separate occasions in the 1990s and again in the 2000s. This year, Pierson is looking to guide the Nighthawks to more postseason success on the heels of North Haven’s second-place finish in states last fall.

North Haven stands at 1-1 this season after splitting its first two meets of the campaign last week. The Nighthawks notched a 77-53 win versus the East Haven-Cross-Hillhouse co-op squad in their season opener at Wilbur Cross High School on Sept. 13. Two days later, North Haven hosted Lyman Hall and took a 98-86 defeat in the matchup at Walter Gawrych Community Pool.

Coach Pierson has been satisfied with North Haven’s performance thus far this season. While a lot has changed since last year, Pierson expects the 2022 edition of the Nighthawks to be competitive, sharp, and ready to take on the challenges that lie ahead.

“The season’s going good. I’ve been pleased with how everything is going so far,” Pierson said. “We lost 11 seniors last year. but we have a good group that is back who will take their place. We’re looking forward to a good season.”

Last year, North Haven finished with a record of 6-5 for the regular season. The Nighthawks then came in sixth place at the SCC Championship and went on to claim second place at the Class M State Championship, after which they sent some representatives to compete in the State Open.

Even with the departure of a large cast of seniors, Coach Pierson isn’t expecting any drop-off for North Haven this season. With a combination of experienced athletes and talented newcomers forming this year’s squad, Pierson fully expects to Nighthawks to continue their success from last year and put together another solid postseason showing.

“We’re looking forward to getting started and seeing where we’re at compared to where we left off to last year,” said Pierson. “The Class M championship is the big goal. It was a close meet last year.”

North Haven’s senior captains for the 2022 season are Mikayla Rapuano, Alice Scalmani, and Tara Stoeffler. Rapuano took third place in the 100 butterfly at last year’s Class M State Championship meet. All three of the team’s captains have seen their fair share of postseason experience and are prepared to lead the Nighthawks through an exciting campaign.

“They have great leadership. The team’s close-knit,” Coach Pierson said. “Everyone gets along and, with their guidance, we’re moving in the right direction.”

Pierson believes that the experiences that North Haven’s older athletes have been through together will help the Nighthawks tremendously this season. Pierson is relying on people like senior Makenzie Alogna, senior Victoria Pachnik, junior Madisen Karavas, and junior Giada Garofolo to make a big impact for North Haven.

“We have a lot of experience coming back that’s going to help out with the younger kids this year,” said Pierson. “There’s a lot of experience from the upperclassmen that know how to step up, swim fast, and save the best for last in the championship meets.”

Ciara Clavaton is also a member of North Haven’s experienced senior class. In terms of the younger athletes on the club, Coach Pierson has been impressed with the performance of freshmen Daniella Rapuano and Julia Scalmani early on. Pierson feels that their skillsets provide a nice complement to North Haven’s experience in the water.

Coach Pierson has already noticed how all the hard work that North Haven’s athletes put in during the offseason is paying dividends thus far this fall. Many of the Nighthawks’ competitors spent a lot of time in the water over the summer and are continuing to work hard with the season underway.

“We have quite a few girls that swim year-round, so they’ve stayed in shape,” Pierson said. “We’re lucky enough to get two-and-a-half hours of pool time a day, so that’s been big in having them get into shape. I know that they’re ready and excited for it.”

Coach Pierson knows that all of North Haven’s swimmers and divers need to work together in order for the Nighthawks to achieve their goals this year. Another strong finish in the postseason is the biggest goal for Pierson’s team. Pierson feels confident that North Haven can achieve that goal while showing everyone that the Nighthawks are still in the upper echelon of Connecticut’s swim squads.

“The SCC is a couple weeks before the Class M, and it’s a good way to gauge on how we’re doing at that point,” said Pierson. “Every year, they’ve done well at that meet.”

The 2022 roster for the North Haven girls’ swimming and diving team features senior captains Mikayla Rapuano, Alice Scalmani, and Tara Stoeffler; seniors Makenzie Alogna, Ciara Clayaton, and Victoria Pachnik; juniors Meghan DeRubeis, Maidsen Karavas, Alexis Knapp, and Shen Wan; sophomores Carly Basmadjian, Amelia Bautz, Giada Garafalo, Kaley Lillis, Abigail Lorusso, Daniella Rapuano, Scarlett Russek, and Angelina Valentino; and freshmen Avery Cullen, Andrea Laborde, and Julia Scalmani.

Head Coach Ken Pierson is joined by longtime Assistant Coach Bob Lewis, who works with North Haven’s divers.