2/21- Andover: 83, Exeter: 103
Girls Swimming & Diving (4–1) faced Exeter on Saturday in one of the season’s most anticipated meets for Andover/Exeter (A/E). This year, Andover hosted the meet and suffered a challenging loss with a score of 83–103. The meet showcased many individual milestones and a unified team atmosphere, with both Varsity and Junior Varsity athletes racing together.
Many swimmers entered the meet with personal performance goals. Sarah Sun ’29, who set two new Personal Records (PRs), reflected on being able to meet her individual goals.
“My goal was to improve my time for the events I swam, and I did improve my time for two of my events, so it was overall good,” said Sun.
Katherine Feng ’27 elaborated on her goals to improve individually and as part of her team in the 200-Yard Medley Relay. Her group, including three other Uppers, placed second, just below two seconds behind Exeter’s first place group.
“My personal goal was just to swim fast on the relays and get some new best times in my individual events. I did, so that was really nice,” said Feng.
Several swimmers delivered standout performances during the meet. Sun pointed to Aimee Qi ’27 who achieved a Futures Cut, a qualifying standard for the Futures Championship.
“She did really good in her 50-Yard Backstroke and the 200-[Yard] Medley Relay. She made a Futures cut, which was very impressive,” Sun said.
Other swimmers also reached major milestones. Feng highlighted Hannah Song ’27, who broke the A/E record in the 500-Yard Freestyle, and Sophia Tolokh ’28, who set a PR in the 200-Yard Freestyle.
“Sophia Tolokh and Hannah Song both did really [well] because both of them [set] new best times. Hannah went under five minutes for the first time in her 500 free, and Sophia went under two minutes for the first time in her 200 free,” said Feng.
In addition to individual accomplishments, many swimmers stepped into unfamiliar races to help maximize points for the team. Chloe Ru ’27 emphasized the importance of adaptability for the team’s success.
“Our goal as a team was to maximize our points, so I swam some events that I usually wouldn’t swim to help the team, and I went some personal bests,” said Ru.
Beyond the results, Feng said that the team’s atmosphere stood out as a defining feature of the meet.
“The atmosphere was really nice. Everybody was always cheering for each other, and when you were standing behind the block, you could see everybody cheering for you,” Feng said.
Sun also described the heightened intensity of the rival meet.
“I feel like we were cheering on our teammates a lot because it was against Exeter, which is a harder rivalry,” Sun said.
Ru echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of the team’s unity. The team at practice may feel divided by event training and level, but the meet allowed for support to be shown across competition levels.
“Everyone was really supportive. Varsity and JV, guys and girls, we were all cheering for each other,” Ru said.
Girls Swimming & Diving will compete at the New England Championships at home from Friday, March 6, to Sunday, March 8.
