Varsity Swimmers Set New Records

Corinne Furniss '23 has had her eyes trained on the swimming records board in the Joan Smith Hamill Natatorium since freshman year.
 

And that laser focus was finally rewarded in a dual meet on Wednesday, February 9.

The junior swimming star etched her name into the history books, securing school and pool records in the 100-yard backstroke with a blazing time of 1:06.33. It bested the previous pool record of 1:06.46 set by Sacred Heart's Grace Lillis in 2019 and the school record of 1:07.86 set by Carly Grizzafi ’21 in 2019.

"It has been my goal to break the record since freshman year, but this year was the first time it actually seemed attainable," Furniss said. "I did get faster throughout the season, but I stayed consistently at around 2 seconds over the record, which made me think that was the best I would do this season. Coming into the meet, I did not think I would break it. Though I was going to try, I was mainly thinking about the fact that I had all of next year to improve."

Alas, there's no time like the present.

Furniss fed off the energy from her teammates, friends and coaches, ratcheting it up a notch en route to the season-defining effort. 

"They all knew how nervous I was and many of my friends came to watch the meet and cheer," she said. "As I pushed off the wall, I could see all of my teammates standing and cheering at the end of the pool."

The name Furniss is omnipresent on the records board. Corinne Furniss' name will now be emblazoned alongside her older sister, Ella Furinss ’18, who holds four individual school records in the 200 IM, 100-meter freestyle, 500-meter freestyle and 100-meter breaststroke. 

And don't forget about younger brother Jameson '25, either. 

"My brother (Jameson Furniss '25) also broke a record for the boys' breaststroke, so all three of us will be up there."

Corinne Furniss wasn't the only Panther to smash a school record.

Caterina Stoica '24 surpassed a previous best in the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:07.52. Haitian Hong ’24, meanwhile, eclipsed his own top performances in the 100-meter butterfly (56.70) and 200 IM (2:12.19)

As a team, the girls lost by just six points, 78-72, while the boys similarly competed well in a narrow 88-80 defeat. 

Top performances from dual meet vs. Fieldston:

GIRLS

200 medley relay - first place
Corinne Furniss '23, Caterina Stoica '24, 
Aoife Fortuna '23, Alexis Estime '23

200 freestyle - second place 
Isabella Shinkar '22

200 IM - second place
Corinne Furniss '23

50 freestyle - second place
Alexis Estime '23

500 freestyle - second place
Isabella Shinkar '22

200 freestyle relay - second place
Madeline Israel '23, Morghan Lavery '22, Aoife Fortuna '23, Ella Black '25

100 backstroke - first place
Corinne Furniss '23

100 breaststroke - first place
Caterina Stoica '24

400 freestyle relay - first place
Corinne Furniss '23, Caterina Stoica '24, 
Isabella Shinkar '22, Alexis Estime '23

BOYS

200 medley relay - first place
Michael Stoica '25, Jameson Furniss '25, George Vales '22, Haitian Hong ’24

200 IM - first place
Haitian Hong ’24

50 freestyle - first place
George Vales '22

50 freestyle - second place
Oliver Peterson '22

100 butterfly - first place
Haitian Hong ’24

100 freestyle - second place
George Vales '22

200 freestyle relay - second place
Ramzi Hikmet '23, Dylan Glaser '25, Luca Lorance '23, Theo Meyer '24

100 backstroke - first place
Michael Stoica '25

100 breaststroke - second place
Jameson Furniss '25

400 freestyle relay - second place
George Vales '22, Jameson Furniss '25, Michael Stoica '25, Haitian Hong ’24

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