Palatine Girls Swimming Building with Strong Leadership

Those attending the Hinsdale South Hornet Relays on Sept. 11 who glanced toward the shallow-end corner where the Palatine High School girls swimming and diving team made camp might have struggled to pick out the group's coach.

That's because 27-year-old Brittany Berleman shares the youthful look and enthusiasm of the teenagers she leads. In her first season as Pirates head swimming coach after four years as an assistant, Berleman is confident Palatine can re-establish itself as the power it was in the 1980s and 1990s.    

But it's a humble confidence. When asked about her promotion, Lewis University's seven-time Division II All-American is all business.

"It's a lot more paperwork," Berleman said with a sigh before giving the positives. "You get to coach the girls who worked hard all season long and it is fun to see them succeed. They come in with the talent and that makes the season more enjoyable."

In 2010, the Palatine girls have been succeeding, though it might not be apparent in the team standings.

The season has lost dual meets at Prospect and at home against Buffalo Grove.  In between, Palatine tied for first in a meet with St. Viator and Mother McAuley, then later finished ninth of 12 at the Hinsdale South meet.

The success, instead, has been at the individual level.

At Hinsdale, two Pirates swimmers finished events approximately one second over the respective state qualifying times as determined by the Illinois State High School Association (IHSA). Senior Monica Dorszewski finished her 200-meter freestyle in 1:57.29 (state-qualifying standard is 1:56.61) and her 100-meter breaststroke in 1:09.01 (state-qualifying standard is 1:08.46). Meanwhile, junior Nicole Huffman finished the 100-meter backstroke in 1:01.18 (state-qualifying standard is 1:00.09). 

The swimmers will have to have those times at or below the state-qualifying standards when they compete in sectionals.

Senior diver Mallory Fisher, who qualified for state and finished eighth overall in 2009, finished first overall at the Hornet Relays with a score of 360.75. Unlike swimmers, divers have less control over their state-qualifying destiny, having to compete head to head. The top finisher at each section plus 32 at-large divers with the best non-section-champion scores qualify according to the IHSA.   

There are also positive signs for the future.

Freshman Amy Zahn finished fourth overall in the 500-meter freestyle at Hinsdale with a time of 5:29.88 while fellow frosh Laura Mayer was expected to get back in the pool Sept. 8 after recovering from an injury, according to her coach.

  Four-year veteran Dorszewski has been swimming since her neighbor got her started at age 11. Despite her individual success, the captain keeps the overall team performance in mind.

"Last year we got third in sectionals, so we want to get third or even better," Dorszewski said. "The team's been doing really well. Lots of people have dropped time and improved."

Individually, Dorszewski aims to qualify for and place high at state in the 200-free and 100-breast.

"We have a really good team right now," Dorszewski said. "Next year we'll have a good team and, with the freshman we have this year, we'll have a pretty strong team for the next few years."