Girls’ swim placed third at the MIAA Division I State Meet with 206.5 points Sunday at Harvard University. According to senior Maia Alberts, a captain with seniors Rachel Donnellan, Kat Filipova, and Claudia Flint, the meet went “very well, and the team had a lot of fun.”
“Everyone performed well, and mostly everyone set new personal records in their events. It was a very consistent performance,” said Alberts. “We placed ahead of Needham, who had beaten us three times this season,” she added.
The performances of Filipova, and sophomore diver Jocelyn Schecter were seen as key parts of North’s success by Alberts, along with the team’s overall consistent effort.
Alberts also praised junior Anna Rahilly’s performance. “Her 200 IM was fantastic. She hadn’t swam it much this season and only started practicing it in the past week, but scored us some points and got a 2:19, which was awesome,” she said.
Filipova emphasized the importance of “being a team” to having a successful season.
“I think one of the biggest accomplishments we’ve had is in establishing a positive environment on the team and how we are much closer than we have ever been and how much we support each other in and out of the pool,” Filipova said. “Even when we are having a bad meet, like with sectionals, we can get together to regroup and turn it around and make it better than ever before,” she added.
According to Alberts team’s effort throughout the season were a large factor in finishing third at States.
“Like every sports team, we have worked tirelessly for several months, and our catchphrase ‘#nosleep’ says it all. Not only training really hard and working on our specific strokes near the end of postseason, but also really building that team dynamic and supporting each other was important,” she said.
Alberts reflected on the team’s camaraderie, and the group’s ability to bond with each other.
“It’s a long season, and I’m happy to say this is a team where instead of getting sick of each other, we’ve only gotten closer and enjoyed every last moment of the season,” she said.