On Tuesday, the AB Swim and Dive girls held strong against Winchester, winning 97 to 83.
AB divers started the meet off strong, with Darcy Lillie making her second States and Sectionals cut, officially qualifying for both. Zoey Jin brought her A-game, making her first cut for States and Sectionals. To prepare for sectionals and states, the two completed eleven dives instead of the usual six seen in meets before. Providing good competition, Winchester’s diver Emily also completed eleven dives, coming in first before Darcy, who got second, and Zoey, who got third. Showing the results of their incredible hard work, Shruthika M Veena, Kimaya Gazula, and Sophia Manifrim all got personal bests for the season in diving. This gave AB a 3-point lead against Winchester.
When swimming started, the lead was again widened in the 200 Medley relay. The AB relays got first and third, bringing AB a 9-point lead in total. The girls brought the same passion into the 200 Free, in which Mariel Tan placed first with a 2:09.76, her season’s best. Kira Kozhemiakina and Caterina Nicu brought home third and fourth place respectively, fighting for the points AB needed. In the 200 IM, Isabela Teixiera, Chelsea Zhou, and Cassie Bellora placed first, third, and fourth, respectively, keeping up the stubborn consistency AB had been bringing in meets past. Moving their mindsets to sprint for the 50 Free, Caroline Tyrell, Katie Crowley, and Selina Zhu zoomed into second, third, and fourth place, Caroline just milliseconds from the first-place finisher. After a well-needed break from the tension, AB snapped right back into its determined persistence for the 100 Fly, with Olivia Sater, Emily Zhou, and Madison Meyer bringing in second, third, and sixth, respectively. Madison had this event for the first time ever, pushing through the fatigue in a brilliant show of resilience. Like a three-pronged spear, Katie Crowley (1), Mariel Tan (3), and Katie Baxter (4) tore the subsequent 100 Free, coming in barely milliseconds apart from one another. After clearing the opposite end of the deck for the 500 Free, Chelsea Zhou, Selina Zhu, and Aarya Chauhan lept from the blocks, swimming 10 strong laps that brought them into second, fourth, and fifth, respectively. The 200 Free relay was brought home by Caroline Tyrell, Mariel Tan, Olivia Sater, and Katie Crowley, working together to win by 6 whole seconds. Isabela Teixeira (1), Katie Baxter (2), and Kira Kozhemiakina (4) brought speedy times for the 100 Back, getting 1:00.58, 1:06.7, and 1:07.42, respectively. AB’s lane 3 seemed to be a good luck charm this meet, with Caroline Tyrell coming in first for the 100 Breast right before Katie Crowley, Katie Baxter, Olivia Sater, and Isabella Teixeira finished off the 400 Free Relay and the meet with a comfortable first place.
10/17/23