“WOOHOO!!! Party Time!”
Coach Madeline Maggard’s enthusiastic words summed up the Jesuit Swim Team’s dominant performance at the Knights of Columbus Invitational on Saturday, September 19th, the Swimming and Diving Team’s first meet of the year.
The team performed extremely well in Saturday’s meet despite the fact that they barely had any time in the water before their season began as their practice pool, Loos Natatorium, remained under repairs. Responding to adversity, the Swim Team practiced at SMU’s natatorium as well as the Royal Oaks Country Club, which only has “six lanes for [the] whole team,” a comical sight according to Coach Maggard.
While they couldn’t find a convenient pool to practice in, the Swim Team worked outside of the water, a seemingly significant hindrance for swimmers. On land, the Swim Team “worked out their core,” said Coach Maggard, and grew stronger, leading to their dominant performance. Abbas Hussain, a junior swimmer, commented that drylands are “way less fun than being in the water, but they get us in amazing shape for the season.”
Impressed by their decisive victory, Coach Doug Moyse especially “liked [the] times that [they] swam” because “they haven’t been swimming at Loos yet due to complications.” Coach Madeline Maggard believes the “stand out swimmers at the meet were Sam Betanzos ’16, Brendan Feehery ’16, Michael Boyson ’16, and Jack Ayres ’17.” Feehery, a senior, also just committed to swim in college for the University of North Carolina on September 24th!
Reflecting on the meet, Abbas Hussain ’17 really liked “how the team [looked] to start” the season, thinking that their early success is an indicator for a fantastic year. Hussain also loves how, as a junior on the team, he can assume a “bigger role as a leader to help the freshman and sophomores get faster.” Along with Abbas, everyone on the team wants the sophomores to improve because of their “unusually large numbers” as they make up a majority of the team according to Coach Maggard.
Come out and support the swim team as they next compete at the Ranger Relays on Saturday, October 3rd.
