There is a reason they're called the Spartans.

The Holy Spirit girls' swim team has had to endure some rather spartan conditions the past couple of weeks.

The pool at Richard Stockton College in Pomona has been rather frigid. The climate inside the glass walls that enclose the pool there has mirrored the weather outside.

It seems there has been a problem keeping the place warm. The water temperature has been in the low 70s, while the air temperature hasn't even been that high, hovering in the upper 60s.

Still, the girls have managed to work through it all and flourish as evidenced by their Division B championship at the South Jersey Coaches Invitational last weekend.

"The girls have done a real nice job getting through the uncomfortable situation of the past two weeks," Holy Spirit coach Mike Schiavo said after his team received the first-place trophy. "They've worked hard. They've never complained. The last week, in and out of the pool, it's been difficult."

The experience of the past couple of weeks has enabled the girls to develop a sense of trust in each other. Since they worked through it together in practice, they knew they could count on each other in the meet.

But that's typically how Holy Spirit teams work. They start the season without many expectations, but the improvement starts on day one and continues throughout the season.

The Spartans began the season unranked but are sitting at No. 8 in the latest Courier-Post Top 10 with a 4-1 record and the South Jersey Coaches Invitational Division B title on their resume.

"I just expected everybody to have a good meet," sophomore Beth Mooney said. "That was definitely one of our goals. We've had a hard couple of weeks but one thing to come out of it is we've developed a real positive attitude."

With no seniors, they are very young. But that's probably to their benefit. They make up for the lack of experience with grit and determination.

"It's really amazing," junior captain Caitlin McCusker said. "We really don't have the experience this year. But we swam with a lot of energy. We had a lot of quality swims. I'm just so proud of everybody."

Bright beginnings

In its first season as a split team, Ocean City acquitted itself quite well. The Red Raiders won both the 200 medley and 200 free relays. Renee Tomlin captured the sprint frees and Samantha King took the 200 IM.

"We came in here knowing we were seeded first in a couple of individual events and the relays, and our goal was swim fast and place really well," Tomlin said.

King, who also finished third in the 100 backstroke, said the meet was the perfect opportunity for the young Red Raiders to introduce themselves to the South Jersey swimming community.

"We did a good job," King said. "We were psyched to come in here for the first time as a split team. We finally got a chance to show everybody what we're made of."

Scoring change

When results were first announced, diving scores had been inadvertently omitted. Once the mistake had been discovered, scores were retabulated and the latest results actually affect the order of finish.

Originally it was Mainland, Eastern and Cherry Hill West in Division A. But diving results pushed West ahead of Eastern. The finish now is Mainland (293), Cherry Hill West (266) and Eastern (259.5).

In Division B, Holy Spirit's margin of victory was trimmed to four points. The Spartans had 272 points. Moorestown moved up to second place with 268, courtesy of 16 points earned in diving, and Ocean City dropped to third with 257 points.

Cape dominates

The Cape-Atlantic girls' league is in its inaugural season, but it made a big splash last weekend.

In Division A, Cape swimmers won seven of the eight individual races and two of three relays. Millville senior Cara Smaniotto won the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, and her sister, Jill, a freshman, won the 100 butterfly.

Mainland's sensational freshman Joanna Thomas narrowly missed the record in winning the 200 free but broke the meet record in the 500. Egg Harbor Township junior Sarah Czar won both sprint free races.

Additionally, Millville won the 200 medley relay and Mainland won the 400 free relay.

In Division B, Cape swimmers weren't quite as dominant but the results are still impressive. Ocean City carried the banner quite well, winning the 200 medley and 200 free relays with Tomlin capturing the sprint frees and King winning the 200 IM.

Holy Spirit freshman Erin Cawley won the 100 butterfly.

The rest of the winners in A and B came from the Tri-County Conference. Gloucester Catholic's Megan McCourt won the 100 breaststroke in Division A, while Sammi Edwards of Woodstown won both distance free events in Division B, and Kingsway's Stephanie McAllister and Cassie Tubb triumphed in the 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke respectively.

Oddly enough, the South Jersey League was shut out individually.

On deck

There will be three more championship meets next week. On Monday, the South Jersey League Championships will be held at Gloucester County Institute of Technology, which will also host the Tri-County Conference All-Star meet on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Atlantic City High School will serve as the site for the Cape-Atlantic Individual Championships.