Athlete of the Week: Spitz twins take off for Sailors
They are identical twins, but there are a few ways to tell Newport Harbor High freshmen Ayla and Zoe Spitz apart.
Zoe is about an inch taller, and her hair is shorter. And when you talk to them, their personalities shine through, though those personalities are an area of contention for the sisters.
“I’m more friendly and nice,” Zoe Spitz said with a smile, and Ayla had to chime in.
“That’s not true!” Ayla protested. “I’m definitely nicer, we can both agree. I’m definitely nicer. She’s meaner.”
Zoe smiled again.
“You’re more stubborn,” she offered, to which Ayla countered again, “No, you’re pretty stubborn.”
Based on this exchange, both Spitz sisters might be stubborn. Another similarity is that they are straight-A students at Newport Harbor, though they share just one class this year, second-period math with Mr. Dominguez.
The math on the sisters’ swim times? Just know that they are fast. Even as freshmen, they’re the foundation for a promising young Sailors squad..
No, they’re not related to Mark Spitz, the nine-time Olympic swimming gold medalist. But they swim fast enough to make you think that they could be.
Ayla and Zoe, who share the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week honor, helped the Sailors win the Battle of the Bay meet last week for the first time since 2010. They each won two events and were on the two winning freestyle relays as Newport Harbor won, 90-80.
The Spitz sisters continued to shine Friday at Sunset League finals at Golden West College. Ayla shattered the school record in the 100-yard freestyle, winning in 20.22. The previous record was Kate Klippert’s 21.05 from 2009. Ayla also won the 100 backstroke at league finals, with a 55.60. In both races, she was victorious by nearly a second.
Zoe didn’t do so bad herself. She was a close second in the 50 free in 23.82, and fourth in the butterfly in 56.86. Together, the Spitz sisters teamed with Kaela Whelan and Kili Skibby to touch in the 200 free relay in 1:37.97, another school record.
To be sure, Newport Harbor Coach Brian Melstrom is fortunate to have the sisters in his program. They swim club for Irvine Novaquatics.
“It’s another level,” Melstrom said. “It’s a record-board level type of swimmer, and we haven’t experienced that for a while. Our water polo girls have had a lot on their shoulders to try to compete in the Sunset League. It just brings a little more parity to our school. We have to compete against an Edison, a Los Al, a Fountain Valley, where the majority of their top swimmers are all club swimmers. It’s kind of nice to have a couple in my back pocket to even things out.”
The sisters have set themselves up for a big meet next week at the CIF Southern Section Division 1 finals at Riverside City College. Ayla is seeded first for the preliminaries in the freestyle, and fourth in the backstroke. Zoe is seeded sixth in the 50 free and ninth in the butterfly.
The Division 1 finals are next Saturday night under the lights. That’s where the sisters want to be, to have their time to shine at their first CIF finals.
“There’s so many fast people there,” Zoe said. “It’s cool to compete with all of these crazy-fast people.”
They definitely qualify in that category. Just ask CdM, which had owned the Battle of the Bay meet in recent years. This time the Spitz sisters helped CdM come out on top, along with key swims by Newport Harbor water polo girls like Jessica Lynch, Lissa Westerman and Skibby.
“We knew it was big rivalry, and we were really excited,” Ayla said. “We hadn’t beaten them in a while, so we were thinking maybe this could be the year ... A lot of our water polo players have really surprised themselves.”
The sisters have enjoyed their high school swimming experience so far. They appreciate competing in the fast environment of Southern California, faster than where they grew up in Newton, Mass., just a few miles outside of Boston. Back then, they just competed for a rec swim team.
In late 2012, when they were in sixth grade, the family moved to Southern California. Ayla and Zoe’s dad, Eric, had taken a job as president and co-owner of Freedom Communications, the company that owned the Orange County Register. Eric Spitz has since resigned that role, and the Register was recently sold to Digital First Media in March.
Eric now sees his daughters making the headlines. But they do so humbly, Melstrom said.
“They’re always looking to help the team in any way,” he said. “It’s not like, ‘I want to do this, I need to do this today.’ They’re happy to swim in any event that I put them in. I think they’re enjoying the high school experience. Even though they don’t train with us, they’re respected by their teammates. I feel like they’re not trying to come in and push anybody aside or make anybody else feel inferior in any way. I think they’re just really motivated swimmers, and a lot of our water polo girls don’t see that level of commitment or motivation toward swimming that they have toward water polo.”
Newport Harbor is a team on the rise. Next year, the Sailors should be even stronger as sophomore Dinny Stevens, another talented club swimmer, returns from injury. And Carly Yasko, who also swims for Novaquatics, will be a freshman to look out for in 2017.
Melstrom said that the Sailors record board should get “decimated” over the next four years. Zoe is already close to the girls’ 50 free record of 23.49 owned by Klippert, while Ayla can take aim at the backstroke record of 55.21 set by Nicole Mackey in 2001.
They’re already within reach. The Spitz sisters’ fun in high school swimming is just beginning.
“There’s nowhere to go but up,” Zoe said. “I can’t wait until next year.”
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Ayla Spitz
Born: Jan. 8, 2001
Hometown: Newton, Mass.
Height: 5-foot-6
Sport: Swimming
Year: Freshman
Coach: Brian Melstrom
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite movie: “Trading Places”
Favorite athletic moment: Helping Newport Harbor beat CdM last week in the Battle of the Bay meet.
Week in review: Ayla won the 100-yard freestyle and 100 backstroke and was on two winning relays as Newport Harbor beat rival CdM, 90-80, for its first Battle of the Bay win since 2010.
—
Zoe Spitz
Born: Jan. 8, 2001
Hometown: Newton, Mass.
Height: 5-foot-7
Sport: Swimming
Year: Freshman
Coach: Brian Melstrom
Favorite food: Sushi
Favorite movie: “Boyhood”
Favorite athletic moment: Helping Newport Harbor win the 4x50 breaststroke at the CIF Relays meet along with sister Ayla, Quincy Morgan and Kili Skibby.
Week in review: Zoe won the 200-yard freestyle and 100 butterfly and was on two winning relays as Newport Harbor beat rival CdM, 90-80, for its first Battle of the Bay win since 2010.
