Girls’ Swimming Narrowly Falls to Choate
On Jan. 30, Choate Rosemary Hall edged out Exeter girls’ swimming, 95-91. The meet was held at Choate, and Exeter’s record now sits at three wins and four losses.Captain and senior Stajz Saar thought that Choate’s home pool advantage contributed, in part, to their win. The pool at Choate is 25 meters long, as opposed to Exeter’s 25 yard length. “Those couple extra strokes every length really made the difference,” said Saar.Choate’s swimmers also excelled in the freestyle, which ended up being the deciding event of the meet. In both 400-meter freestyle relays, Choate finished first.Senior and Captain Olivia Reed agreed that the unfamiliar pool length contributed to Exeter’s defeat, and also acknowledged areas the team could improve on.“We were down a few swimmers which put us at a disadvantage going in ... so that was an added dimension of difficulty,” Reed said. “We really need to improve our turns because that’s where [Choate] surged on us.”
“Our enthusiasm was especially high this meet because we knew it would be close.”
Three of the team’s preps were standout swimmers this week, according to Saar and Reed. Prep Heddy Parker won the 100-meter freestyle.Despite an injury, prep Sam Gove came in second in the 400-meter freestyle, and contributed to a win in the 200-meter freestyle relay. Prep Liz Williams “swam very well,” according to Reed. She won both the 500-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke.Saar also contributed greatly to the team’s score with a win in the 100-meter breaststroke. “I think the highlight of the meet was [Saar] winning the [100-meter breaststroke],” upper Emily LaRovere said. “It was close race the entire way and she out touched [her opponent] by 0.5 seconds.”LaRovere, who swam on the winning 200-meter freestyle relay team with Gove, Saar and Parker, said that such a narrow loss was “very sad,” but that the team swam to the best of their ability and stayed positive.Saar was also pleased with the team’s effort and attitude. “All of the girls swam really well this weekend—it’s really exciting to see how far we’ve come this season. Our enthusiasm was especially high this meet because we knew it would be close,” she said.Reed echoed Saar and commended the team’s skills and dedication. She said, “We have great starts and the drive and hard work during practices is really beginning to pay off in the meets.”On Saturday, Feb. 6, Exeter will face Northfield Mount Hermon School. NMH’s win-loss record stands equal to Exeter’s, and both teams face a challenge heading into the weekend.