Orcas Swallowed Whole by Sea Serpents

This past Saturday the Terra Linda Orcas were devoured by the Scott Valley Sea Serpents of Mill Valley. Had we gone to Wikipedia and looked up Sea Serpents we would have known we were in for it as they are described as, “A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of sea monster either wholly or partly serpentine.”  Actually just looking at the times the Sea Serpents had posted in previous meets it was obvious how monstrous the event was going to be for the Orcas.

With the coming break from the swimming meets during Memorial Day weekend the Orcas will have a chance to regroup and recharge before traveling to Rolling Hills Country Club in Novato to take on the Stingrays.  The Stingrays got crushed the previous week by the Sea Serpents as well, so there is a solid opportunity for the Orcas to improve their record to 3-1 with a victory.

When the Orcas lose, I like to say swimming is not about winning. Even when we win and my daughters win their heats I still say it’s not about winning, just doing the best you can and improving. But I have to admit that winning is more fun than losing. 

I am personally very proud of an 8 and Under swimmer named Olivia Hoover whom I helped recruit this year. She played on my daughters winless soccer team this past fall and I among others convinced her parents to give the Orca experience a chance.  Hoover rocks!  She’s got a great attitude and she’s close to becoming an all-star swimmer in freestyle, only .21 seconds off after getting a best time against the Sea Serpents and taking a third place in the ultra-competitive first heat. Plus Hoover’s parents Mike and Sarah are the coolest.  Mike is one of the starters for the home meets, and he’s got a perfect tone for launching the swimmers into the pool. Mike and Sarah were a little reluctant to join the Orcas because of the volunteer commitments, but I think Mike has found his calling as a starter and they’ve found volunteering can be fun!

Jason Burris is another swimmer who is really coming into his own. Against the Sea Serpents he scored three best times for the second time this season in three meets. That's an awesome feat for any swimmer and, according to his father, Jason was feeling under the weather during the Sea Serpents meet so he's hopeful for even faster times against the Stingrays.

My own daughters are still the fastest breaststrokers on the Orcas, but for the first time this season another swimmer beat my 10-year-old Skylee. This time it was actually four. Every Stingray in her heat beat her, three of whom did it with all-star times. Sabrina fared better, but three of the four Sea Serpents she swam against beat her as well. 

The Sea Serpents are an exceptional team and have a legitimate shot at dethroning the Sleepy Hollow See Lions, whom the Orcas face later in the year.  That’s always a meet to look forward to, if you’ve got a thing for being overwhelmed.

By the way, I’d like to extend my sincerest apologies to the Lucas Valley Lightning, whom I was unintentionally referring to as the ‘Lightening’ in last week’s column.  Norm Levin said that mistake came across like bleach.  I’m happy to report that even a few meteorologists have been known to make that mistake, just not any good ones.