On Wednesday Oct. 23rd, the Staples girls’ swim team suffered a loss against Norwalk, which was the last meet before FCIACs.
With the event falling on senior day for the swimmers, one would assume it would bring good luck. Jocelyn Krim ’14 speculates the opposing team’s strategy may have thrown them off.
“We knew there was a chance that we wouldn’t win because they beat Ridgefield by two points, which is the same as we did,” Krim said. “It all came down to what we did in the pool, and they definitely tried to sike us out by dressing like Westporters for the day and coming super early, which may have added to the stress of this meet.”
The beginning of the meet was strong, but by halftime, Norwalk had six points against the home team. After diving, one of the strongest events for the Staples team, they took the lead by four. Norwalk gained back their stride in the 100m fly, 400m freestyle, 200m freestyle relay, 100m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, and 400m free relay, ending the meet with a 96-90 win.
Team captain, Verity Abel ’14, thinks positively of the season and effort of the girls on the team. “The girls trained incredibly hard and performed like they never have before. Honestly, I’ve never been so proud of a group of girls than I am right now,” Abel said. “I hope that the swim team touched all the girls’ hearts as much as it did mine.”
Swim coach, Mike Laux, agrees with Abel in the tremendous improvement and dedication of the girls on the team. “They filled the gap of the 5 state finalists that left us last year. Many have qualified for states,” Laux said.
Despite their loss, Laux is confident with their abilities and skill as a collaborative team. “We didn’t lose today, the other team won. We never lose, you see. If the other team beats us, we learn something from what they did better than us. That’s our attitude.”
