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December 28, 2023 – Story by Ava DiCecca, photos by Joshua Ross
Harbormen and Harborwomen swim fell short to Duxbury 108-48 and 100-69 respectively in their meet on Thursday; however, many positives came from their performance that make them hopeful for the rest of the season. They put up a strong fight as a small team that lost many talented swimmers and were successful in many areas despite the final results. The environment was electric and the team was very supportive of one another leading to an overall consensus that this meet was a great way to start off the season. It instilled a good foundation for them to build off of as they go into the rest of their year.
In a preseason interview, captains Lina Matera and Genevieve Vale spoke about some of the biggest parts of the season they are most excited for and what they hope to accomplish as leaders. Matera stated “I’m very big on attitude. Nothing makes me happier than cheering on my teammates.” She is unfortunately not yet back in the pool so is turning her focus towards helping her teammates achieve their goals and is excited to watch some of the younger swimmers have their “breakthrough moment.”
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Vale had a very similar outlook stating that “being on the swim team, it is super important for people to people to celebrate the individual small wins of the team like cutting down times, as well as the big team wins like winning a meet or winning in a race. I think we have done a great job with that this year so far..” They are looking to create a comfortable environment for everyone on the team, especially the younger swimmers, and make it a fun and successful season for everyone. After a few meets, it seems they and the other captains have already made strides in creating a supportive and energetic team as the individual swimmers had no shortage of encouraging comments and teammates cheering them on.
Head Coach Kait Mcdonough was very enthusiastic following her team’s showing and continued to look at the positives that came from their meet, “It’s the beginning of the season and we have already made several sectional and state cuts on the individual side and on the team end, we are very low in numbers this year and lost a lot of seniors so I think we have done really well.” While focusing on the best parts of the meet, she was also looking for areas to improve, stating that the key skill they need to work on is their walls. Once they are able to improve that skill, they should become an even tougher team to compete with and be even more confident in their ability to perform this season.
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Mcdonough was incredibly proud of the fight they put up and complimented some great performances by Ella Cignetti who placed third in the 100 butterfly and second in the 200 IM, making state cuts in both, Emma Izmirlic, a sophomore who placed second in 100 back and second in the 100 free, and one of her captains Kelsey Donegan. Donegan also seemed incredibly enthusiastic after the meet. As her coach stated, she had a great showing on Thursday, individually placing second in the 200 free and her 200 medley relay team of Vale, Cignetti, and Izmirlic placing first. After the meet she stated, “I’m really proud of everybody. You can see them trying to keep in mind what we did in practice which I think is important and I am just really excited.”
The team is putting in the work to make up for the low numbers and being sure to motivate their teammates throughout the season. Already having some swimmers qualify for sectionals and putting up a strong fight against one of the toughest teams in the league makes this meet a successful one and one that gives much insight into what the rest of their season will become. As they continue improving their times and enhancing their skills, they hope to have even more qualifiers and achieve personal bests this season while still competing strongly as a unit.