Varsity Swim faced off against Wilcox High School on Thursday, April 10 while celebrating its Senior Night amid a pool deck decorated with gold balloons. Graduating seniors — including captain Davina Huang, Sonika Wagner, Yash Das and Petros Kougiouris — stepped onto diving boards to receive applause and a rose as underclassmen swimmers gave speeches to honor their teammates.
Varsity Boys won 103–56 while Varsity Girls lost 71–95, resulting in an overall team loss of 127–198. Despite the loss, several swimmers still qualified for CCS. Davina Huang and Michelle Lee advanced in the 200-yard individual medley, while Huang, Angela Poon, and Sonika Wagner qualified in the 200-yard medley relay. Poon also qualified in the 200-yard freestyle, and Lee in the 100-yard backstroke.
Sophomore Michelle Lee, who competes in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley, will join her teammates at the CCS championships on May 8 and is excited to share the experience as a team.
“This is my fifth or sixth meet of the season, and I finally got my CCS qualifying time,” Lee said. “I got it by 1.5 seconds, which is a lot. I’m happy about that because it means that I get to race with my teammates. It’s absolutely crazy. I am proud of them for making it to the end.”
Sophomore Toby Liang believes their team spirit has helped them succeed, as team members motivate each other in and out of the pool. Liang believes even routine tasks, like taking off the pool cover, have become easier and efficient due to their teamwork.
“We have a lot of camaraderie,” Liang said. “We’re cheering for each other during the meet and while the events are happening. Every day, we all come early to do the covers. We’re all helping each other so we can get it done quickly, and then we can get to practice faster.”
