The Girls Swim and Dive team can be found mornings and afternoons swimming and training. This season, the team has a lot to offer, with quite a few wins and many more competitions to look forward to.

They have won 6 meets so far, with plenty of good times in events, but that’s not what’s most important to them.

“The girls team tries to focus on creating a tight knit bond and I definitely think we have been able to achieve that so far,” says Elizabeth Matricaria, senior.

Their busy schedules help with that, as the team is together multiple times for most of the week.

“We are together 6 days a week, 2 meets and 4 days of practice,” said Robert Barber, team coach. “Varsity does doubles on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”

Practice doesn’t consist of only swimming, however. Some practices are spent doing different training activities. One particular one is specific to the JV group.

“JV does something they like to call wetland which is a mix of swimming and working out,” Matricaria said. “They normally do this 2 times a week and it involves stations where some of them are swimming but some of them are getting out of the water and doing crunches, planks, situps, med ball slams, and so on.”

All of this practice showed great results at meets.

“We dove and swam really well earning us a first place finish at the [Glenbrook North Sprint classic],” Barber said..

Not only do the swimmers make great times, they also make many memories together as a team. One of these is a tradition they call “Cotton Eye Joe.”

“This is a dance we do before every meet. We all stand around in a circle and dance to the song, it is a good way for us to get warmed up and ready to race, but it is also a good way for us to have what some people like to call a “calm before the storm”.  It is a chance for us to be able to wish each other luck and have one last moment before we have to start racing,” Matricaria said.

Overall, the team has much to look forward to as conference approaches.

“I am looking forward to cheering on my teammates and friends and watching them accomplish their goals they have worked so hard for this year,” Matricaria said.

Coach Barber is also eager to see what the season brings for them.

“We have a young and talented team that will have an impact at State.  I can’t wait to see our team taper,” Barber said.