The boys varsity swim and dive team swam against the Wellesley Raiders in their home opener dual meet on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at the Evelyn Kirrane Aquatics Center. The Warriors defeated the Raiders 96-78, extending their win streak to 2-0.
Despite their recent win against Belmont, the Warriors were not confident going into the meet, given the Raiders strong performance last season. However, sophomore Emil Grinberg said any sense of uncertainty quickly dissipated.
“As we started the events, we noticed that we had greater depth than our first meet and we were getting better placements,” Grinberg said. “That’s when we realized we had a chance.”
Senior and captain Jack Maloney, said the team’s spirit was high throughout the meet as their success continued.
“It was cool to see us win event after event and get the feeling that we would win,” Maloney said. “It was great seeing everyone support each other and the team continue to go far in races.”
Many swimmers qualified for states off of the meet, including junior and captain Julian Carlson, who qualified in the 200 individual medley and 100 breaststroke, and junior Zach Lee, who qualified for diving in both sectionals and states.
Assistant coach Lea Luniewicz said freshman Leo Novack had a great 200 and 500 freestyle. While behind by a few seconds for the first half of his 200 freestyle, Novack made up the time in the second half and placed first in the event. He additionally set a personal best in his 500 freestyle by about nine seconds at a time of 5:37.23.
The Warriors also won several 100-yard events, with junior Gabe Segal placing first in the 100 butterfly and senior Eric Poliansky doing the same in the 100 freestyle. Luniewicz said everyone swam well, fueled by the competition of the meet and their loss against Wellesley last season.
“Competition was good for the boys. Last year’s experience with Wellesley encouraged them to be on their game and come out fighting, and we saw that in the water tonight for sure,” Luniewicz said.
According to Maloney, high team spirit and chemistry contributed to the team’s win.
“I always see teammates cheering on other teammates, no matter how many events they are swimming,” Maloney said. “It’s great to see teammates uplifting and supporting each other during an event.”
After a meet filled with personal records, Luniewicz said she looks forward to the rest of the season.
“The amount of improvement we’ve seen from our first meet to today is exciting. We are projecting that improvement onto the rest of the season,” Luniewicz said.
