By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
Chloe Fuetterer and Adrianna DiVentura are tough to keep up with in the swimming pool. DiVentura is a good freestyler who competes in individual freestyle events while also anchoring the 200 medley relay team, and Fuetterer is one of the better backstroke swimmers in the Cape-Atlantic League.
But keeping up with this pair of juniors in the classroom might be even more difficult.
Our Old Cape Recycling featured scholar athletes are tremendous students, said Mustangs coach Mike Schiavo, who also teaches AP world history. He said he’s constantly amazed at how these two keep up straight As while also dealing with the rigors of a swim season.
To Fuetterer and DiVentura, however, it’s simply become habit; part of the routine that they have become used to during their high school careers.
“I have three AP classes this year — psychology, English and world history — so this year is really hard with SATs and ACTs. Especially with balancing work and swimming, it’s a challenge. But we manage to make it happen,” DiVentura said. “It’s stressful, staying up late at night and getting things done. World history is a stressful class.”
“I’ve found that the workload can sometimes seem overwhelming, but you just have to focus and think of the end picture,” Fuetterer added. “A lot of times you get home late from practice and you’re exhausted but still have to do homework, but you just have to stay positive. As soon as I get home, I just try to grind it out and think that in a couple hours if I get everything done, then I can go to bed.”
Both girls are key members of a Mainland team that currently is one of the best in the Cape-Atlantic League, and both have been doing their part. DiVentura missed all of last season with an injury, but with her back the Mustangs have a strong 200 medley relay team that includes Fuetterer and Hadley Egan, as well as swimmers such as Danielle Schuster, Georgia Ridgeway and Valerie Spiers, depending on the lineup coach Schiavo wants to go with during a particular meet. And Fuetterer has won the 100 backstroke event in two of Mainland’s four meets so far heading into the first week of January.
“We have a really good team this year. I actually had a shoulder injury so I was out all of last season, so I’m just coming back. I’m really happy to be back,” DiVentura said.
The Mainland boys, who are ranked third in the state behind Westfield and Christian Brothers Academy, have been grabbing most of the swimming headlines so far this season. Their success has been a motivator for the girls team, Fuetterer said.
“It’s definitely motivating to see the kind of success they are having, and it makes us as a team want to do better and stand out as well,” Fuetterer said. “We really have a strong team this year. We have a lot of strong freshmen who push the upperclassmen to work harder, so we’re excited. The press that is drawn to the boys comes back to us in a way, so that pushes us to do better.”
Fuetterer and DiVentura — both 16-year-olds from Linwood — don’t have any problem with motivating themselves. They said their parents don’t necessarily push them to get straight As all the time, but they don’t need anyone pushing them. That’s what they want for themselves.
“I’ve always been very motivated, both in the classroom and in the pool, so I think that helps. I’m just the kind of person who doesn’t settle for anything less than my best. I always try to do more than what’s expected,” DiVentura said. “The last time I got a B was in middle school, and I cried.”
“My parents always say to just do my best, but I find that I’m very competitive and hard on myself. I just try to do my best, but sometimes I have to tell myself that I can’t do everything,” said Fuetterer, who is taking advanced classes in English, psychology, world history and calculus. “My AP classes are very difficult and I have a lot of work in those classes. They are all great, but I find that I have to really grind through the work.”
Junior year is an important one academically, as students begin taking tests such as the SATs or ACTs. DiVentura recently took the SATs for the first time to get a barometer on where she’s at and what she needs to work on.
Naturally, she wasn’t satisfied with her score.
“I think I did pretty well. I didn’t do any prep classes or anything, I took it just to kind of see where I was,” she said. “I think I did OK, but I can certainly do a lot better.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays
Know a scholar athlete you’d like to see featured in Glory Days Magazine? Email sully@acglorydays.com and let us know!