By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Gage Allemand, Alexis Bailey and Cari Jane Roussel each scored three first place victories individually in Belle Terre’s opening meet against LaVacherie on Thursday. But it wasn’t enough for the Piranhas to emerge victorious, falling 319 to 211 at home.

LaVacherie (1-0) led 124.5 to 90.5 after 24 events, which included the freestyle and the backstroke. That gap widened after the breaststroke and the butterfly to 238.5 to 151.5. It would be too much for Belle Terre (0-1) to overcome.

Despite the loss, Belle Terre swim coach Laura Bailey saw improvement in her team from the preliminary time trials.

“I was pleased with the times. Everyone improved, and I expect that to continue throughout the season,” Bailey said. “They’re good kids, they love to swim and they’re excited to be there.”

LaVacherie topped 60 points in three events: the freestyle (64.5), the backstroke (60) and the butterfly (62), keying their victory.

Allemand took first place among 11 & 12 year old boys in the freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly events. Roussel notched first place in the same three events among 11 and 12 year old girls. Alexis Bailey finished first in the backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly among the 15-18 year old girls.

This first meet of the year was different in many ways than last year’s for Laura Bailey, who stepped in as coach this year after swimming for the team last season.

“It was a completely different experience,” she said. “I never realized how much went into it behind the scenes. It’s different, since you want (the swimmers) to do the same things you’d do. I hadn’t worked with the younger swimmers in a long time. But it’s a good experience.”

Other swimmers who notched first place finishes in multiple events included: Christopher Guillot, Tyler Songy, Ashton Torres, and Tai Sutherland.

Rounding out the first place finishers were: Ansley St. Pierre, Madison Torres, James Krawczyk, Blaine Tatje, and Justin Jase.