No pressure here for Sailors, Sea Kings

CORONA DEL MAR ? The first swim meet of the season means it has been nearly a year since the previous high school competition. For top swimmers, the memory of their last meet goes back to competing for league and section titles after a season’s worth of training.

So forgive them if expectations of themselves are high. Winning, while nice, is not the focus now as much as improving technique and times.

The Corona del Mar girls’ swim team defeated Newport Harbor, 100-70, and the Newport Harbor boys surpassed Corona del Mar, 93-77, on Tuesday, but thoughts were on the season ahead and the work needed to be done.

The Sea Kings’ Lexie Shue won by the largest margin with a time of 5:03.14 in the 500-yard freestyle to automatically qualify for the CIF Southern Section Division II meet. She was the only swimmer to earn an automatic bid.

“I did OK,” Shue said. “It’s the beginning of the season and I’m getting back into the swing. For the first week, it’s OK. By the end of the season, I definitely want to be under 4:50. It’s gonna be hard work, but we have 2 1/2 months to train.”

Britney Wigley provisionally qualified in the 500 with a time of 5:30.38 and CdM earned 17 qualifying times overall, at least one in each event. Stephanie Gabert won three events, including being part of the 200 medley relay team that won in 1:59.54.

Ashley Chandler was not available for the meet, but Coach Doug Volding said he expects big things from her and Gabert.

“Stephanie [Gabert] and Ashley [Chandler] are going to do what they do,” Volding said. “Sometimes they don’t get enough credit because it is expected of them. They never cease to amaze me.”

Newport Harbor boys’ assistant Brian Melstrom said the day’s times were a strong point to build from.

“It’s good to start the season with a win,” Melstrom said. “We set a standard to improve upon. We need to work on stroke technique.”

Daniel Furman, who advanced to the Division I finals in the 100 freestyle last season, won three events ? including the anchor leg for the 200 free relay team, winning in 1:34.29.

“I did all right,” Furman said of his 100 freestyle performance in 49.93. “By the end of the season, I should be around 40-45 seconds. It takes a lot of training. I need to work on my start and turn.

“For the first meet, it’s all right. It’s always fun to swim here. Even more fun when you win.”