Girls’ swim and dive triumphed over Brookline 95-84 at its senior meet on Friday, Oct. 17, the last meet of the regular season.
The Tigers, for the first time in 11 years, ended their season undefeated. Senior Orly Fishman, a captain alongside seniors Finnleigh MacCannell and Jillian Schneider, said, “We went undefeated, but I feel like that wasn’t our greatest accomplishment. We really came together as a team.”
The stands were almost filled to the brim with fans, friends, and families of the swimmers and divers. Fans in the stands displayed passionate support, sporting bikinis over their clothes and brightly colored wigs.
The team had decorated the pool area with tiger paws and orange decorations. They also wrote “Congratulations, Seniors” on the whiteboard.
The divers were up first, with freshmen Audrey Aguilera and Ellington Yi taking their positions. Aguilera’s highest score was a 7.5,6, and Yi reached a score of 7,7.5, the highest score of the meet.
The second event was the medley relay. In lane four, freshman Ava Zheng swiftly closed the gap while performing backstroke, providing junior Barbara Liao the chance to take the lead. Junior Meg Urdaneta and freshman Chloe Wang furthered North’s lead during the butterfly and freestyle portions to win the medley relay.
In lane six, Fishman and seniors Mia Yocum, Izzy Chapman, and Miriam Gazda competed in an all-senior medley relay.
The next event was the 200 yard freestyle. The Tigers took a strong lead, with sophomore Victoria Sigmundstad-Callahan placing first with a 2:04.00 time. Junior Yolanda Yan placed second with a 2:05.31 time.
The third event was the 200 yard individual medley, beginning with backstroke. North and Brookline started off neck-to-neck, but the Tigers quickly gained a lead. Junior Barbara Liao increased her lead and ended the race with a time of 2:17.96, with senior Evin Otero only 3.5 second behind.
For the fourth event, swimmers competed in the 50 yard freestyle race. Schneider was able to pull through for a 26.58 winning time. Freshman Chloe Wang finished with a time of 26.91, earning second place.
During the ten minute break period, the announcer called each senior’s name. All of the seniors walked across the pool deck to receive a bouquet of orange flowers lined up for a group picture to celebrate their last regular season meet at North.“It really was a full circle moment,” said Fishman.
Yan, Wang, and freshman Romy Lee then competed in the 100 yard butterfly. Yan quickly took the lead and maintained it until the end for a time of 1:03.36. Each time Yan emerged from the water for a breath, the crowd erupted in supportive cheers.
Junior Abby Holton said, “The energy was very hype as a team and because we’re undefeated we have a lot of momentum to keep getting better and to get PRs.”
The seventh event was the 500 yard freestyle race, where Sigmundstad-Callahan and senior Nevie Lee promptly took the lead. Every few laps, the Tigers gained a larger lead. By the 18th lap, Sigmundstad-Callahan was a full pool length ahead of all Brookline swimmers. She triumphed with a time of 5:37.71, and Lee was close behind with a time of 5:46.81. Sophomore Lana Conley placed third with a time of 6:07.93. North’s fastest time beat Brookline’s fastest time by 35.68 seconds.
The 11th and final event was the 400 yard freestyle relay. Scheider immediately took the lead with Zheng not far behind. Brookline crept up behind Zheng to gain a close second place, but the relay team remained unwavering in its efforts. The Tigers finished the race a full pool length ahead of Brookline, winning first with a time of 4:01.79 and second with a time of 4:05.97.
PEHW teacher Kristen Smith, the head coach, said, “It was really a big team effort.”
The Tigers, 10-0, concluded their regular season with the satisfying win. They will compete in the Bay State Conference Championship (BSCs) this Sunday, Oct. 27.
