For what was expected to be one of the closest meets of the year, the boys varsity team won 112-58, while the girls varsity team won 95-84.

The girls varsity swim team

The girls varsity team started off the meet by winning a close race in the 400 meter Medley Relay. Tied neck and neck after the third leg, freshman Carly Reid pulled ahead for the MVHS win.

“We expected everyone to be really tired because we’ve been working really, really hard. So I didn’t expect [it to be] our best [meet],” said captain senior Olivia Luna.

Reid completed the rest of her meet with wins in both the 50 meter and 100 meter freestyle races, and assisted in a close win in the 200 meter freestyle relay by pulling ahead and touching the wall .96 seconds before the Falcons.

“Saratoga isn’t known for good swimmers in my opinion,” said junior Kelly Darmawan.

While the Lady Mats expected an easy win, exhaustion throughout the the girls’ team made for close races.

The Lady Mats ended up placing second by .21 seconds in the 100 meter breaststroke in a CCS qualifying swim by sophomore Michelle Chan. Sophomore Elizabeth Zhang also finished in a close second in the 100 meter fly butterfly.

“We’ve been having morning practices, doing cross-fit every morning from 6 to 7 a.m. [and] swimming for about two hours a day,” said Luna. “It’s really hard work. It’s intense, it’s good.”

The boys varsity swim team

Alongside the girls, the boys varsity team won the 400 meter Medley Relay. The Matadors finished one and two in the 50-meter freestyle with swims by senior Sean Hughes and freshman Colin Hong.  

In single races, junior Keith Yuen finished second in the 500 meter freestyle trailing behind Saratoga swimmer Ian Henshaw, who qualified for the Olympic trials in this event last year.

For the 100 meter freestyle, senior Alex Bagdasarian, sophomore Evan Li and sophomore Kevin Su finished first, second and third, respectively.

Hong met one of his season goals by finishing his 200 freestyle race in under 1:50, while Bagdasarian finished with a win in the 100 meter fly. Bagdasarian also had to fill in for Hughes, as Hughes had missed practice for a week due to the Gov Team’s Washington D.C trip.

“I felt nervous…it was kind of a relief when my coach put me in really short, easy events,” said Hughes. “With swimming even taking two days off is horrible. I definitely felt like I had less stamina.”

Teammate junior Michael Leung also returned to competition after a personal leave, finishing first in the 100 backstroke, qualifying for CCS.

With another win under their belts, the MVHS swim teams will soon start to taper in anticipation for league finals.

“I would say we’re on the right track,” Hughes said. “I’m trying to get my 100 free down, so my fastest time is 48 so if I can match that or go lower, that’d be great.”