Girls Swimming & Diving (5-0) had a decisive win of 107-79 in an away dual meet last Saturday against Loomis Chaffee (Loomis), extending its undefeated season. With a time of 1:00:82, Ariana Zhao ’25 broke the New England Prep School record and the Loomis pool record in the 100 Short Course Meters (SCM) Backstroke. She also broke the 200 SCM freestyle record, previously set in 1987, with a time of 2:05:87.
The team’s end-of-season schedule includes Easterns Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships, the Andover-Exeter meet (A/E), and potentially New England Championships. Sophia You ’26 explained how the team has been concentrating on refining technique and intensifying practices to ready itself for Easterns, ultimately boosting its performance against Loomis as well.
You said, “In order to prepare for this meet, we’ve been tapering a bit because this upcoming weekend is our championship meet, Easterns. We were working a lot on technique and doing shorter distances more quickly rather than a large yardage, so we reduced the volume and increased the intensity. It’s been really important for us to just work those final kinks out while we are going into championship meets and A/E.”
According to Ariana Zhao ’25, every athlete on the team plays a crucial role in creating an uplifting and positive environment. She highlighted the consistency of the support that teammates lend each other no matter the circumstances.
Zhao said, “Regardless if you’re swimming your best event or you’re swimming something new that you don’t normally do, the team is always there to encourage you. Before I go up behind the block, there’s always my teammates behind me giving high fives and saying good luck. The team dynamic is very encouraging and supportive.”
Co-Captain Izzy An ’24 commended Zhao for her impressive performance, describing how Zhao’s times serve as both motivation for the team and score boosters during intense meets.
“Ariana broke the pool record and the New England Prep School League record in the hundred back. The pool record was her own from two years ago, and then she also broke the record from 1987. She also did a great job in the 200-[Meter] Free[style] and clutching both her anchor legs in both her relays. Overall, she did a really great job and I think the meet was pretty close so her swims were definitely a really great boost for us morale wise, but also points wise,” said An.
An shared that this meet acted as a “dress rehearsal” for future championship meets, revealing the team’s potential for success as well as possible areas of improvement. She hopes that the swimmers can reflect upon their experiences and use them as inspiration going forward.
An said, “We only have one more dual meet left and that’s against [Phillips Exeter Academy] (Exeter) so it’s nearing the end of the season when we have a big chunk of championship meets, like Easterns, Exeter, and the NEPSAC Championships. This meet was really important to use like a dress rehearsal. Our coach says to practice and perform the way that we would like to at our championship meets. I think this win was also really great and proved to us that we’re ready to take on these championship level meets and to perform at the level that we need to. We’re definitely looking to use what we learned individually in our races in general, but then also the smaller details that we’ve been working on.”
Girls Swimming & Diving will compete at Easterns Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday and Saturday.
