Meet The Graduates

My name is Christopher Ivanov and I’m soon to be a graduate of Fort Hamilton HS. This Fall I will be attending (The College of Staten Island) to pursue my career of becoming a nurse. I began swimming my freshman year of High school only because my older sister did it first, so I thought I might give it a try. It turned out I wasn’t half bad for someone who hasn’t competitively swam most of their life. I joined Matchpoint mid season in Spring last year. I am grateful for the opportunity to improve myself under the Coaching of Dima and Kostya. Swimming has become a big part of my life. I hope to continue improving my swimming in my Division II college team.

My name is Sean Roudnitsky and I am graduating from Stuyvesant High School this year. I will be swimming division 2 for Adelphi University and studying biology/pre-med. I started swimming competitively just 3 years ago and am very grateful for Dima, Kostya, and all the other coaches who helped me reach higher than I dreamed in this sport, and for all the wonderful friends I made who helped me get through practice. I am excited to continue my swimming career for the next four years and can’t wait to see what I can achieve.

My name is Michael Arkhangelskiy and I am a soon to be graduate from Leon M. Goldstein HS. Throughout these years I have made many memories that I will forever carry with me on to Stony Brook, however everything would not be the same if I had never swam for Match point. I plan on continuing my life journey by studying as a Computer Science major. The sense of community and family is genuine and I will miss it wherever I go. I advise all new incoming and current swimmers to keep working hard; all your goals will be realized. Thank you for an amazing time, Match point.

Hi, my name is Angelina Gonzalez. I am graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School with the class of 2018. This fall I will be attending St. Francis College with the intended major of Adolescent Education in Biology. I have been swimming for Match Point almost four years now, I started swimming when I was eight years old but I quite for several years until I got into high school, which led me to join Match Point’s Swim Team. My sophomore year I was made captain and by senior year I was able to break all of my schools swimming records. I am very grateful for all of the Match Point coach’s for making me into the swimmer I am today and to my team who allows us to push each other. I would also like to thank Konstantin for his motivational phrases “don’t be jelly belly” and “fire desire” because those stick with me and will always motivate me to do my best. I am very excited to not only continue swimming throughout college but to continue throughout life.

My name is Christopher Orobinsky; I am graduating from Staten Island technical high school, class of 2018.  This fall I will be attending Hunter College on the Macaulay program with an intended major in biology in hopes of becoming a surgeon. I have been swimming since I was 8 years old. Ever since then swimming has always been a vital part of my life, it saddens me that my college doesn’t have a male swim team but I intend on continuing swimming on my own and for Match point.

My name is Reginald Derrick Odom Jr. and I am a senior at Millennium Brooklyn High School. I will graduate this June and will be attending Georgetown University in the fall. I joined Match Point swimming last fall and had the opportunity to meet new swimmers and work with Coach Kostya. Even though this year was difficult, I was able to achieve some new personal best times.  Thank you Coach Kostya and Dima for the time and support you gave me.

My name is Rachel Davidovich and unlike many others, I began my swimming career late in life. I was already 14, a sophomore in High school when I began participating in anything remotely resembling a structured swimming workout. Although I started late in life, that in no way diminished my neither love nor enthusiasm for the sport. With each passing practice my love and determination grew. Eventually under the guide of both Dima and Konstantin I joined the Senior Team at Matchpoint. It was harder and more demanding than anything I had ever experienced before, and I loved every moment of it. There isn’t enough gratitude in the world for me to express how grateful I am to have been given the opportunity to take part in such a wonderful team. Now that I have graduation the Yeshivah of Flatbush I hope to continue my education at Rutgers University as a pre-med student with the hopes of becomes a sports medicine doctor.

Hi my name is Robert Wisniewski I started swimming for a small team as a young childand from day one; I fell in love with the sport, which became a defining part of who I am. Despite my initial lack of skill, I worked hard at practice, and came to realize that it was only through hard work and discipline, that I could achieve success in swimming. While in high school, I began swimming for Match point, and I applied these values every day at practice. In my years there I improved exponentially, made great lifelong friends and achieved many of my swimming goals. I plan to apply the same passion that I have for swimming, to my college endeavors. I will be attending Iona College this fall, where I will pursue a degree in computer science. I am also very excited to continue my swimming career on their team. I am so thankful for the life skills and the love for swimming that I have gained throughout my career at Match point. I want to thank Konstantin for the support and guidance he has given me throughout my swimming career. Without the help of all the Match point coaches I never could have significantly improved on my passion enough to be swimming on a Division 1 Team.

My name is Lok Chi Hon. I am a senior at Brooklyn Technical High School and will be graduating in June. I will be attending SUNY Oswego in the fall where I will be studying computer science. I plan on swimming on the Oswego swimming and diving team.I have been swimming at Matchpoint for about two years.Not only did my times improve drastically, I was able to build strong friendships with both swimmers and coaches. I would like to thank Coach Konstantin for being so tough but at the same time, being so caring. I will always be grateful for all the advice, motivation, and guidance he has provided me over the past two years. With Konstantin’s passion for swimming, this team will surely continue its road to success. I would like to thank everyone for making my memories here unforgettable.

Hi, my name is Elan Oumarov and I am a graduating senior at Brooklyn Technical High School, as well as the captain of the MatchPoint NYC Swimming Team. I will be attending the Stern School of Business at New York University in the fall, where I plan to continue my swimming career. Although I swim breast stroke on occasion, I am mainly a butterflyer and hold both the 100 and 200 yard MatchPoint records, as well as a spot as the flyer in MatchPoint’s 400 and 200 medley relays.

My experience at MatchPoint has changed my perspective on the sport of swimming. Although this is partly due to the amazing swimmers I get to call my teammates, it is mostly the work of our amazing coach Konstantin Petrov, who I have had the pleasure of working alongside for over three years now. He is one of the most caring and talented individuals I have ever met in the swimming community, and I consider myself lucky to have been elected captain under his supervision.

While I am excited to start a new chapter of my life in college, I will always remember my time at MatchPoint and will surely stop by for some more of Kostya’s famous fly sets.

My name is Omar Hafez and I am captain of the Fort Hamilton varsity swim team. I have been swimming for a really long time and it has become a very important part of my life. Swimming at Match point helped me become a better swimmer, meet many amazing people, and also made I enjoy swimming more. I will be attending Brooklyn College next year studying pre med at Brooklyn then hopefully getting into Medical school. Swimming for Match point was definitely a great experience with the funniest, most amazing, caring, and hard working coach I’ve ever had. I will really Miss Match point and all the people I’ve met from being on this wonderful team. My future plan is to swim for Brooklyn College and also become a medical doctor in the future.

My name is Michael Mcalpine. I attend the Berkeley Carroll School and will be graduating in June, 2017. I will be attending West Virginia Wesleyan in the fall where I will be pursuing an Engineering degree. I have been swimming at Match point for almost four years. Since joining this team I’ve made new friends and learned what it means to be truly part of a team. Under the guidance of Konstantin I’ve learned many things and as well as improved my swimming. Swimming has taught the meaning of discipline and hard work which is why I will continue swimming in college. Leaving this team and the bonds I’ve created will be hard, but I hope to find the same type of love and friendship at Wesleyan. To the members of the team who will still be here when I leave, my advice to you is work hard and never give up. As the great Kostya once said, “No Lazy DJ, you need Busy DJ” as well as “No Fire, No Desire”

My name is Serena Yu. I will be graduating in June from Brooklyn Technical High School. I have been swimming at Match point for a little over a year. Because of this team, not only was I able to stay in shape for the last season of Tech swimming, but I was also given the opportunity to have a competitive swimming experience. Thank You Coach because this has given is a new perspective of this sport and of course new friends. I will carry this experience with me as I attend Binghamton University this fall to pursue an undecided major.

Hello my name is Veniamin Konovalov. I am a 4 year undefeated captain of Brooklyn Tech’s varsity swim team and I’ll be attending the University of Buffalo next year studying civil engineering. I have been swimming since the age of 3 and competitively swimming since the age of 10. I have 2 records in my high school and 3 Match point records. My future plans are to be a 4 year swimmer while studying engineering and I can’t wait to start my journey.

Hi, my name is Konstantin Lomeyko. I started swimming at the age of 6 as a way to conquer my fear of deep water. Little did I know back then that swimming would turn into my life-long passion. Swimming has truly blessed with me so much. Most importantly, swimming gave me the opportunity to meet many amazing people and make lifelong friends. It just seems that being in the pool 2 hours every day seems like a great formula that develops many great friendships. When I first joined Match point, I was anxious that it was a terrible decision joining this team. I didn’t know a lot of people and I regretted leaving my other team behind, but I was wrong. This has been one of the best decisions in my life and I’m grateful for all of the friends I made.
This fall, I’m proud to continue to swim and resume my education at SUNY New Paltz. I fell in love with the campus and the kind people that go there. Biology and Psychology are the choices that I’m interested in majoring in at my new school. My end goal is to get into medical school and continue my education to become the best physician I can be. It won’t be easy getting into a medical school or becoming a doctor, but I’m motivated to accomplish my end goal.
I want to thank Coach Kostya for everything that you’ve done for me. I’ve had many coaches before, but you’re definitely the most awesome one. Your passion for the sport is truly inspiring to me and you definitely push me to my limit every single day.

I’m gonna miss everybody at practice next year, and I bet this team will continue to grow in the right direction under Kostya’s guidance. I want to thank my family, friends, and Coach Kostya for believing in me and being there through my highs and lows. For this couple of years, I was truly blessed to be a part of the big Match point family.

My name is Nadine Brewster.  I attend Midwood High School and will be graduating in June, 2016.  I will be attending Nazareth College in the fall where I will be pursuing a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.   I have been swimming at Match point for two years. Being here has been a great experience. I got the opportunity to make new friends and my swimming has improved under the guidance of Konstantin and the other coaches.  Swimming for me means structure and discipline which is the reason why I have chosen to continue to swim in college.  I believe that I will be able to be a positive contributor to Nazareth College’s swim team.  Swimming teaches diligence and persistence.  I hope to utilize these qualities in all aspects of my life.

My name is Daniel Adayev and I have recently graduated Staten Island Technical High School. I will be attending Stony Brook University, Long Island in the fall and will be majoring in psychology in hopes of becoming a Clinical Psychologist in the future. I have been swimming since I was 5 years old, and after 12 years of intense training, my interest or strive has never wavered. Swimming has always been an integral part of my life, and I plan to continue swimming throughout college as soon at the Stony Brook pool is finished with its renovations.

I had been on 2 other teams before I moved to match point, where I have proudly swum for the past 2 years. In my opinion, this is probably the best team I have ever swum at. No other coach provides the intense passion and care for their swimmers as Kostya. He treats every swimmer with respect and motivates his swimmers to a level I have never seen any other coach ever reach. I will certainly miss his unique and hilarious catch phrases but hope the future swimmers at Match point will enjoy them as much as we did. As Kostya would say, “No fire, No desire”