Zack Peng ’21 scored 348.30 points for Boys Swimming & Diving, breaking the previous school record by 26.40 points.
In Boys Swimming & Diving’s first home meet of the season, Zack Peng ’21 established new school and pool records in diving and Arnold Su ’20 broke his own pool record in the 100-Meter Breastroke. Peng and Su’s performances helped Andover to achieve a 133-53 win over Loomis Chaffee on Saturday. The team’s record now stands at 2-0.
Peng scored 348.30 points with a total of six dives, breaking the previous school record of 321.90 set by Corey Psoinos ’07 in 2006. In addition to breaking the school record, Peng also smashed the pool record of 324.05 points, set by Deerfield’s Taylor Clough in 2011. Peng was surprised to learn he had broken pool and school records.
Peng said, “I really didn’t expect it, but in general it was a great experience and I learned a lot from it, knowing now that I know how to I improve myself for the future.”
According to Peng, this meet focused on the back category of diving, which he worked on during practice.
Peng said, “Diving is a sport that you have to practice a lot over and over again so it not only becomes muscle memory but helps you know when to kick and how to adjust your body so you can get [into the pool] vertically.”
Additionally, Su broke his own pool record from last year of 58.24, clocking in at 57.99.
According to Head Coach David Fox, the team will continue to work to push themselves in practice and prepare for the Eastern Championships in mid-February.
Su said, “For the past week, we’ve just been training very hard and pushing ourselves every day. Like always, we had one goal: to swim fast. Every meet we have from now till February is practice towards our final championship meets, and every meet is just another opportunity to show off what we train for.”
Although there was a system error with the scoreboard at the start of the meet, Andover did not let these technical difficulties phase it, according to Jack Warden ’19.
Warden said, “We didn’t let this unexpected occurrence deter us from performing to the best of our abilities that day. It was a good experience that taught us to preserve under unanticipated circumstances, and will help us down the road this season.”
During the meet, the team relied on each other for support, as well as energy from the home crowd, according to Peng.
“It was a home meet too so everyone was feeling a little anxious, but everyone was really excited because a lot of friends came over to watch. Again it was the support and positive attitude that the team had, but all the while it’s a competition and we have a great balance of fun and also work ethic,” said Peng.
Warden said, “I thought that the team brought a lot of energy throughout the entire meet. With a larger audience than usual, and with some spectators bringing posters, it was easy for us to create an enjoyable, environment during the meet in front of a home crowd.”
Over the break, the team will continue to train hard and swim faster for more sustained time as it look towards the future, according to Su and Warden.
Warden said, “Many of us will head home during [winter] break to train with our various club teams. In terms of swimming, [Winter] break is generally the hardest training period of the year. Many of us will be doing morning and afternoon practices that last a few hours each. It is the perfect opportunity to buckle down and pound out yardage that will condition us to be more resilient at the end of our races when we come back.”
Boys Swimming & Diving will travel to Peddie on January 12 for its next meet.
