This past week marked a turning point for Swarthmore’s swim team. After an arduous week of training in Puerto Rico and an intense first week back at Swarthmore, the team stepped up to a new challenge last Saturday.
The challenger wasn’t just any ordinary team. It was Gettysburg College, one of the best schools that Swarthmore swim goes up against all year. There was another element to last Saturday’s meet that made it special: it was the Swarthmore Senior Day Meet.
At this meet, each senior is given a bouquet of flowers and a kickboard signed by the whole team as a token of the team’s appreciation for the seniors’ four years of dedication. The meet attracts a bigger audience than usual because of the special occasion.
Kate Wiseman ’15 gave her thoughts on the Senior Day Meet. “I love the senior meet because we get to really celebrate what the seniors have contributed to the team, and to share that with the rest of campus, since this is the one meet where we really get fans,” she said.
The team rode on their wave of support and accomplished some impressive wins against Gettysburg. Several freshmen and seniors stood out at the meet. On the women’s side, Erica Flor ’17 won the individual 200 backstroke event, and Maggie Regan ’14 had an exceptional performance in the 200 breaststroke. On the men’s side, Liam Fitzstevens ’17 won the individual 100 backstroke and the 500 freestyle and seniors John Flaherty and Henry Kietzman got first and second places in the 200 butterfly.
Fitzstevens was pleased with the results of the sentimental, yet trying, Senior Day Meet. “Today we put up a good fight against the best team in the conference, while still managing to have a blast,” she said.
These feats are not only impressive in the face of the emotions brought on by the senior ceremony and the toughness of the competition. They also indicate the team’s high level of endurance and perseverance after what various members of the team described as some of the most physically taxing weeks of their lives.
Supriya Davis ’15, who is newly back from studying abroad, went on the team’s winter break training trip to Puerto Rico. She describes the trip as arduous, but ultimately rewarding. “Although it is a lot of fun to be in warm weather, the training trip is meant to kick us into shape through 15 rigorous practices within 9 days. This is the peak of our training and helps us build endurance and strength,” she said.
The trip was challenging, but the team had no desire to take a break when they got back to the states. Davis followed up, “Upon our return to Swat, we have had a lot of meets within the past two weeks, which can break up training and make it difficult to keep up our practice routine, since two out of our normal six practices each week have been meets.”
Because the team has such a demanding schedule, keeping their bodies and minds properly maintained before conferences in a couple of weeks is a top priority. While the Puerto Rico trip is designed to bring the swimmers to their peak in terms of training and performance, the weeks that follow are meant to simultaneously keep them working hard and allow them to recover. = In order to strike a balance between hard work and rest, the swimmers are gradually decreasing the amount of energy they expend in and out of the pool.
The team “tapers,” or gradually decreases the number of yards they swim, in the few weeks before conferences in an effort to rest their well-trained bodies before the big day. “We’ve been preparing for conferences by showing up to practice every day, swimming through the pain and eating our spinach. After three weeks of taper, we’ll be ready to give Gettysburg another run for their money,” said Fitzstevens of the pre-conferences daily regimen of practicing, tapering and maintaining health.
Their preparations do not end with eating well, resting and staying fit. Swarthmore swim takes a holistic approach to producing a happy, healthy team. They see bonding and group time as an integral part of making sure that everyone is prepared for conferences. The team is officially in their “dry season,” a time during which they aren’t allowed to drink any alcohol until conferences are done.
Deprived of opportunities to go “all out” at parties or strain their bodies and minds with a lot of social activity, they have opted to throw pancake, massage and movie parties. These events are a great chance for the team to come together and build each other up as their big moment draws near.
At conferences, each individual swimmer will be striving for a different time at the three-day meet, aiming to beat not only their own goals, but also other individual swimmers’. Conferences are a true test of the team’s stamina, skill and their ability to support each other in a highly competitive and stressful environment. As Wiseman says, though, the Swarthmore swim team is truly a team, “that’s what is most exciting to me about the Conference meet, watching your teammates’ hard work pay off.”
Swarthmore swim is entering conferences with a team-centric mentality and an undeniable enthusiasm for reaching their goals. And though Swarthmore faced hurdles this past weekend, including sore bodies and fierce competition, the swimmers had many reasons to celebrate. The team said goodbye to their seniors and applauded their numerous successes, but these goodbyes are not goodbyes just yet. The seniors will play a vital role in bringing the team success this year at Conferences, and it looks like the entire team is going to end the semester on a high note.