Athletes of the Week: Lilly Carden and Maddie Shapiro

The pond is packed to the brim with fans for the girls’ varsity swim team’s first meet of the season. Captains Lilly Carden and Maddie Shapiro are cheering on their teammates from the side of the pool. After a long meet, they know their team is exhausted and needs a final push to demolish their opponents. And they succeed.

"Besides being incredible athletes, this splashy duo makes sure to lead in style with both hard work and compassion."

Seniors Carden and Shapiro both got their start in the pool at a young age. Thrown into the sport by their parents, neither of them made a huge splash in the swim scene right away. Carden’s parents had to practically drag her to the pool for her practices at age five. Meanwhile, in Exeter, NH, eight year old Shapiro was being persuaded by her father to try out for the Exeter Swim team. For Carden, she didn’t realize how much she loved swimming until she quit. “I got back into it because it was such a great stress reliever and it was really nice to have a community outside of my classmates at school,” she said.

Now, on their respective tenth and twelfth years of swimming, there’s more keeping them in Big Red’s swimming tank than the shiny speedos. Carden describes her passion for the sport as correlating to her love for her team and feeling of self accomplishment after a tough race. Despite the fact that swimming is a primarily individual sport, the captains adore their small group of girls. “I probably enjoy the team aspect of swimming the most. Having a group of people who you know are supporting you no matter what is really amazing,” she said. “I’m so grateful for it.” Although it may not seem like your usual “team sport”, swim meets are based on the scores of the entire team and tight bonds are formed through the sweat and hard work the girls put in for each other in the pool. “The feeling of hitting the touchpad at the end of a race is really exhilarating. It’s such an adrenaline rush,” she added.

Carden’s fellow co-captain Shapiro also emphasizes the perks of a very vigorous physical activity. The pride in her personal accomplishments and the endorphins are something she simply cannot live without. “There is a lot of pain and effort put into the pool meaning that when you get a new best time, you’re absolute exhausted and hurting during and after the race. If you’re able to walk after, you didn’t give it your all. There’s nothing like the feeling of accomplishing what you set your mind towards though, which is why every swimmer swims.”, she said. Swimming is arguably one of the most physically challenging sports, but seems surprisingly rewarding to this tightly-knit team.

Besides being incredible athletes, this splashy duo makes sure to lead in style with both hard work and compassion. Upper Ashleigh Lackey has been a member of the team for two seasons now and praises her captains’ dedication. “They’re both very smart and efficient. If we ask them to get one thing done, they finish it as fast as possible. I think that they are both really invested in making sure that the team is full of positive energy, pushing us to always stay positive when faced with challenging sets or tough competition,” she said. Whether in the pool or around campus, it’s evident these two swimmers are some of the nicest Exonians around.

Carden commented on the efforts she makes to inspire her team. “I always try to make sure I’m encouraging people in the pool and keeping up a positive attitude,” she said. “At the end of every week, we also pick an 'MVP of the Week' and choose an MVP for every meet to motivate the team to do their best during practice every day.”

In addition to being hard-working, these captains have bubbly personalities with energy and tempo. At the average meet, the voices of Carden and Shapiro can be heard screaming over the chaos of the pool. Lower Maddie Machado emphasized her admiration for the captains, “[They] are great at boosting morale during meets. They’re always cheering from the side of the pool, giving support to their relay teammates and the girls that are swimming individual events,’ she said. Machado added a personal memory she had had with Carden. “Last meet, after one of my races, I remember Lilly coming up and congratulating me, giving me even more drive to win my next event,” she said. Home or away, Girls’ Varsity Swim is bonded by passion for their sport and with a keen eye on victory.

Over the course of their Exeter careers, both in the pool and academically, the two captains have developed greatly over the past four years. The Exeter girls’ swim team is unlike any other, both in size and heart. Both captains declare their dedication for the commitment and close attention that a small team brings. “By being on such a small team here, I have been able to receive a lot of personal attention, so my stroke technique has improved a lot from when I was on a 35 person team back home,” Carden said. Under the close eye of Coach Farnum, both the captains and the team have been able to improve and foster an inclusive winning team dynamic. The difference between clubs and boarding school teams turns out to be a great one, with a greater focus on team victories than personal ones. A win is not solely implied by improving your own times, but cheering your teammates on, as well, so that the whole team can leave feeling victorious. “When swimming for Exeter, girls are strategically placed in events to help our team get the most points to win,” Shapiro described. “Exeter swimming has helped me become more of a team player and it’s always a learning experience.”