Girls Swimming and Diving competed against 30 different teams at the 2024 Eastern Interscholastic Girls Swimming and Diving Championship (Easterns), coming in eighth overall. Ariana Zhao ’25, Alice Zha ’25, Co-Captain Elissa Kim ’24, and Mia Wonacott ’24 broke the Andover record in the Medley relay, taking home third place. Zhao also broke both the Andover school and the New England League record for the 100-Yard Butterfly, placing first. In addition, Co-Captain Izzy An ’24, Zhao, Kim, and Zha broke the 4×100 relay record.
Sophia You ’26 shared that going into the meet, the team focused on the quality of its practices over the quantity. You noted that this training strategy directly translated into better performances at Easterns.
“Leading up to Easterns, we tapered a lot. So, we did a lot less volume and a bit higher intensity, so we were just working on sprinting and trying to conserve energy. I think that helped us in the meet,” said You.
Hannah Song ’27 emphasized the strength of the team dynamic. She noted that both the coaches and co-captains aided in fostering a positive team environment.
Song said, “A crucial moment for the team is when we really bonded or became closer because of our meet or prelims (preliminaries) or finals or how we were cheering each other on. Even though some people didn’t make it to finals, you’re expected to cheer for everyone. The whole team worked on this because our coaches and captains both encouraged us to show good sportsmanship or team bonding and cheer for everyone else. The strength of the team was that we were really there for each other.”
Chloe Ru ’27 highlighted Zhao for her impressive performance. In addition to breaking records and placing top three in multiple events, Zhao racked up many points for the team.
“Ariana Zhao, she’s an Upper. She got one first place and one second place, which is really good because the entirety of this meet was East Coast, which is National Level. It’s a really high-level meet. She broke the record at the meet for 100-[Yard] Butterfly, and then basically she did really well, and she helped us earn a lot of points,” said Ru.
Ru also commented on the supportive atmosphere at Easterns, remembering how every team member would go and cheer each other on during their races.
“We were all really supportive throughout the entire meet. And, also, whenever an Andover student was swimming at a race, we would all go down to her lane and then cheer for them at the end of the lane. And all of our voices were hoarse the next day,” said Ru.
Song commended Co-Captains An, Kim, and Molly MacKinnon ’24 for their excellent management and leadership skills. She praised their commitment to uplifting all team members even while juggling their own responsibilities and techniques.
“The Captains really stood out because they were the ones that initiated everything… They were the ones that organized or encouraged the team because they’re the more experienced people because they did Easterns for at least three years. They were there. They were always encouraging. They knew how things worked out, and even though they had their own races, they were committed to cheering for every single one of our teammates, and it was just really nice,” said Song.
Looking forward, Ru noted the upcoming annual Andover/Exeter (A/E) rivalry and New England Division I Championship Meets. The team will be continuing its rigorous training in hopes of finishing off the season with even more victories and stellar performances.
Ru said, “As for this week, the upcoming week, we have A/E this upcoming Saturday. It’s hard, so we will definitely be working for that because it is a pretty big deal… They’re really good, so we have to work hard to make sure that we are at our best potential. We try our best to win, so we will be working on that. And, we will also be working for New England’s, which is coming up right after A/E.”
Girls Swimming and Diving will compete against Phillips Exeter Academy on Saturday.
