Ingrid Appen ’22 finished the meet with a total of 149.15 points.
According to Sofia Smirnov ’22, the team felt fatigued and performed below expectations.
“I feel like this is definitely something that we can’t control, but because it’s mid season, we were just really exhausted from a full week of practice. I think for a lot of us, the meet didn’t go exactly as we envisioned it,” said Smirnov.
For Andover, this past week was full of competitive and productive practices with a specific focus on the team’s finishes and breathing techniques, according to Co-Captain Jackie Rossi ’20.
“This week was honestly a really good week of training, we worked really hard on our strong finishes at the end of a race because we noticed that that was something that needed more improvement from our meet last week. We dedicated a lot of time to working on low breathing patterns—basically, in the last 25 [meters] of your race to not breathe too much, because that slows you down,” said Rossi.
Despite suffering its first loss of the year, the team’s dynamics at the meet were positive, and the team was able to use the skills learned in practice, according to Rossi and Smirnov.
“I think we got a lot better. The meet at Suffield was pretty tough—they were a very strong team—but we definitely improved on those skills we needed to work on,” said Rossi, “Team spirit is the best it’s ever been, we have a lot of young people on our team and they are bringing a lot of energy. [Co-Captain Grace Hitchcock ’20] and I are psyched because we’re the only Seniors on the team, so we’re definitely making the most of our last season. We also feel like we’ve been bonding well with the boys team so that’s good.”
Smirnov added, “We put up a good fight and continued to cheer for each other and keep up the positive attitude despite losing.”
On the diving side, the team performed well and worked to create a positive team dynamic, according to Presley Kmeta-Suarez ’22.
“As far as diving, I think everyone did really well. We all completed our dives and each one of us scored well. We were all very supportive of each other and had a great dynamic.” Kmeta-Suarez commented.
In the Girls 1-Meter Diving, Diving Captain Claire Davis ’20 led Andover with a score of 231.40, placing second overall. Kmeta-Suarez and Ingrid Appen ’22 placed third and fifth, respectively.
Looking ahead, Rossi envisions the team claiming some titles at New Englands this year.
“The goal is to win New Englands, although that’s a pretty hard goal to reach. If anything, something I think that can be very attainable is winning one New England relay, so that’s our goal,” said Rossi.
This Friday, Andover will compete at home against Westford.
