Sports

Addition of Juniors to Andover Girls Swimming Team Will Aid Run At Fifth Consecutive NE Championship

The Varsity Girls Swimming Team is ready to make another big splash after an impressive performance last winter. Last year, Andover almost had an undefeated season, losing only one meet. At Interschols, Andover trailed Hopkins by more than 40 points according to seed times, but propelled into victory with more than a 60 point margin, winning their fourth consecutive New England Championship. Now, still armed with ‘monsta love,’ the girls are already demonstrating their passion for swimming. Ranked as the eighth best independent high school team in 2005, among more than 900 students across the nation, the Andover girls are eager to uphold their reputation. Although the team lost many core swimmers, the new recruits are diving in to fill any gaps. The Eagle Tribune named the girls’ coach, Paul Murphy, the Swimming Coach of the Year for 2005. He said, “Even though the faces change on this team each year, it is clear that the spirit of Andover Swimming lives on year to year.” Eagerly waiting to see how the upcoming season will unfold, Coach Murphy knows that it’s very hard to predict where the team will be at the end of the season. However, he is very impressed with the team’s performance at practice as well as time trials. After time trials, the girls competed in a coed Intrasquad meet, instead of the usual girls versus boys meet. Split into two evenly divided teams, the girls displayed their potential with very impressive times. One team was led by Captain Katie Faulkner ’06, a four year varsity swimmer specializing in long distance freestyle, and the other team was headed by Emily Brenner ’06, who swims backstroke and freestyle. With only the first three meets taking place at Andover, the girls are going to be on the road for the rest of the season. After a well deserved winter break, the girls now have to dive right back in with only four practices before their upcoming competition with Choate this Saturday. Captain Faulkner said, “