On Saturday, Boys Swimming & Diving competed against Exeter at home, and with its win, continued a 20-year-long winning streak against its biggest rivals. With Andover/Exeter (A/E) being a home meet this year, the team was excited to win in home waters.
Lincoln Tomlinson ’27 described the level of practice the team went through in the weeks leading up to Exeter. With several members returning from Easterns, the team got straight back into the grind.
“We’re just coming off the Eastern Championships, so half the team is getting back into regular practice. For [half the team], this was championship season, so they’ve ramped things back up in practice, pushing their bodies to 100% to keep that level of performance going,” said Tomlinson.
Going into the meet, everybody wanted to compete, a drive seen amongst the entire team. Benjamin Levchin ’28 described the amount of effort shown throughout the days leading up to AE.
“Everyone just wanted to swim their hardest. You couldn’t really have a strategy…we all had a hell of a lot of energy and were ready, but other than that, we just swam the hardest,” said Levchin.
Hosting a fake meet before A/E, the diving team was able to simulate the high-intensity feeling and prepare for whatever challenges it posed. Daniel Matloff ’28 spoke on the fake meet and how it performed during the real competition.
“Practice and meets are very different, and just kind of having a fake meet before the actual one helps you prepare and helps you get mentally ready. I’m pretty sure Boys Swimming & Diving won. I know one of our divers got second in the boys section of A/E diving, and then we had first and second for girls,” said Mattlof.
Tomlinson spoke on the importance of this A/E both personally and to the team. He highlighted the fact that the team was on the verge of a historic winning streak.
“[This was our] 20th consecutive year winning A/E. And what was special about this one? This is my first time doing that at home in our own pool. So, in front of my friends, people whom I know. The same goes for a lot of people, so I know we wanted to swim extra well,” said Tomlinson.
Looking to the future, Matloff spoke on some of the lessons the team gained from this meet. He emphasized consistency, especially under pressure.
“[We should] continue to have meets where it’s realistic, we’re getting judged, we’re under pressure, just so that we’re more comfortable when that time comes and that we kind of don’t freak out and we just revert to what we know,” said Matloff.
Boys Swimming & Diving will compete at the New England Championships from March 6-8.
