In its penultimate meet of the season, Andover Girls Swimming defeated Hopkins in a final score of 110.5-75.5, lifting its season record to 4-3.
Co-Captain Katherine Sweetser ’17 said, “Our main goal was to win. Because we lost by one point last year, we had all the extra motivation to come back even stronger this year.”
Co-Captain Gwyneth Wei ’17 said, “We were a little anxious to race, especially because we were only able to swim three times that week, due to the snowstorm.”
To start the meet off strong, Andover’s 200-Yard Medley relay team of Allyson Ty ’18, Elizabeth Tran ’19, Emma Donchi ’18, and Jess Gearan ’18 touched the wall just over one second ahead of the Hopkins relay team with a time of 1:52.69, over Hopkins’s time of 1:53.75.
In the first individual event of the meet, the 200-Yard Freestyle, Andover had fast swims from Sweetser, Macey Mannion ’19, and Jackie Rossi ’20, who finished second, third, and fourth with times of 2:01.31, 2:04.29, and 2:05.56, respectively.
Ty also placed first in the 50-Yard Freestyle, with a time of 24.83.
Ty said, “[Before my race] I was nervous but excited. Because the race is so quick, every detail counts. You have to focus on every aspect of your swim in order to perform your best.”
Andover continued its winning streak with a win from Sweetser in the 100-Yard Butterfly, who finished with a time of 1:00.44. Sarah Zhao ’18 finished in second place in 1:04.20.
Andover also displayed its speed and skill in the 100-Yard Freestyle, with Ty, Gearan, and Rossi finishing second, third, and fourth, with times of 55.88, 56.60, and 57.68, respectively.
At the end of the meet, Andover finished with a win in the 400-Yard Freestyle relay. The team of Gearan, Sweetser, Tran, and Ty finished in a final time of 3:44.46. In another impressive display of the team’s breadth in skill, Andover’s team of Grace Hitchcock ’20, Rossi, Mannion, and Donchi also finished second place in the relay with a time of 3:53.33.
The team hopes to build upon its winning momentum as it prepares to face Phillips Exeter Academy before Eastern’s and Interschols.
Tran said, “This week, we’re really going to step up the training for the final stretch of the season before coming back down for our taper. As the season comes to a close, we are focusing on cleaning up the bits and ends of our technique, such as walls, starts, and breakouts.”
