The Rutherford swimming teams have been flying through the water against their opponents this season in the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference.
The Bulldogs boys team went undefeated, 8-0, and the Lady Bulldogs girls team went 8-1 for the season with the lone loss coming at the hands to Leonia (104-66 on Jan. 15) during the regular season.
For head coach Steven Dunn it has been the team’s ‘depth’ that has helped to propel the Bulldogs this season. “Our strength is our depth,” said Dunn. “I got some very versatile swimmers that do a lot of different events. They are tough and they will do anything that we need.”
The Rutherford boys go in as the favorites in this Saturday’s NJIC meet at Lyndhurst High School while the girls are only behind Leonia for the conference title. The Bulldogs are ahead of Harrison and Lyndhurst, respectively, on the boys side.
While depth is helpful in the dual meets, Dunn knows it is a different story for the upcoming NJIC meet. “The meet is a different animal,” said Dunn who added the key is winning the races.
In addition to the NJIC meet, the Bulldogs are looking ahead to the state team sectionals. The filing is this week, and Dunn expects his boys team to return to the state sections while the girls are expected to fall just short. The Bulldogs boys team qualified for the state tournament last season, but fell in the first round to Governor Livingston.
For this state tournament meet, he believes that the boys will have a shot at winning a match.
