Everyone stood on their feet holding their breath as the two leading swimmers jumped to the pool deck, what an exciting finish! The crowd roared with excitement as Soeren Evurard leaped out of the pool to embrace the rest of the team and to celebrate their success on scoring second place in the state tournament, something that had never been done before.

From a winless season of 0-6 last year to a record breaking one of 3-3 this season, The Brookline High School boys swim and dive team made a single season turnaround.

Their achievement ranged from the very first meet, with senior Euvrard breaking a record on the 50 freestyle, to the team getting second in Bay States and sixth place in Sectionals.

In Bay States, Euvrard got the best times in his two events and finished first and second in the 100 freestyle and 50 freestyle respectively.

The captains, seniors Elan Katz and Gordon Chen, agreed that this was the best season they had. The community and team bonding were at the highest level than years past.

There were many factors that contributed to the success of this season. It began with the new preseason workouts. Chen would host these with Katz throughout the week.

“The workouts were extremely beneficial to the team as a whole, as they were able to get us in shape for the season,” Evurard said. “We felt the difference in the team in the team immediately.”

Another factor was the more frequent dry land workouts, which happened four times a week. These workouts helped the swimmers get stronger and increased their stamina.

Katz felt the momentum during the season kept their success going.

“I think after the first meet when we beat Catholic Memorial, a solid team, we saw how much potential we had,” Katz said. “That win was a key confidence booster for the entire team.”

The season was still successful despite the flu taking out some of the top swimmers,, including Chen and five others, during Bay States on February 1. The team came in second at this race.

Another aspect of improvement from last season, was the sense of community in the team. They started having more frequent team dinners during the season, which was vital in helping them bond.

“We were having a team dinner at Julian’s house and it was the night before a meet,” Katz said. “All things considered we probably should have stayed in, gotten more sleep. But we decided to go out and play hide and seek in the dark at a park. It was a lot of fun. It wasn’t exactly what I’d expected. But the next day we performed better than we’d ever had.”

The captains had their thoughts about improvements for next season. Katz said that the team should show more constant support for each other.

“The entire team during practices should be getting behind each other, getting each other’s backs,” Katz said. “Most people can’t practice on their own because it’s the team that helps you there.”

Chen said he wants more sustained effort throughout the season, especially towards the end of it.

“The workouts are really important because they help build muscle in certain ways that swimming doesn’t,” Chen said. “ I think next year’s captains should make sure that the swimmers keep that energy and effort at a maximum throughout the whole season.”

The seniors are looking to stay involved as alumni. Euvrard emphasized how he is really looking to be involved with the team in any way possible if he goes to college somewhere local next season.

“My goal is to attend as many practices as I can, to help give back to the team that helped me grow, and then cheer them on in the meets as well,” Euvrad said.

Katz described why people should come watch the swim team.

“There are moments when just the unexpected happens,” Katz said. “When people do incredible things just through sheer willpower, that is something people have to witness for themselves.”