Varsity Swim defeated Cupertino High School on Friday, March 20, with a cumulative score of 205-132. Varsity Girls won with a score of 104-63, and Varsity Boys won with a score of 101-69. This meet was the swim team’s second meet of the season.
Junior Harmony Tse, who competed in the 100-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle, emphasized the physical toll of the week’s heatwave during longer races, noting that the temperature seemed to intensify the longer the meeting went on. While she dropped time in her short distance swim, she felt her longer freestyle performances could have been stronger under cooler conditions. Despite the heat, Tse highlighted the positive atmosphere and the excitement of returning to swim meets.
“I’m not a club swimmer, so I don’t swim year-round, so I really enjoyed getting back into swim season,” Tse said. “Before the meet, we played around in the water for a bit and we cheered for everyone when they were swimming.”
Junior Kaden Lu, who competed in several freestyle events, echoes similar sentiments, balancing reflection on his performance with adjustments of the early season, with this meet being only the team’s second of the season. Lu expressed a mix of frustration and optimism in his results.
“I was pretty unhappy with my performance,” Lu said. “I gained 0.4 seconds in one of my events. It’s kind of a big difference. Not huge, but it’s just a little annoying.”
Despite this, Lu noted that returning to competition felt “surprisingly good.” Looking ahead, he set clear individual goals, including breaking 24 seconds in the 50 freestyle, while also expressing hopes for the team to advance to the SCVAL De Anza league.
Highlighting standout team performances, Lu pointed to swimmers nearing or achieving CCS qualifying times. Sophomore Aaron Zhu, who swam multiple events, including the 200 and 500 freestyle, almost approached a qualifying mark. However, he most heavily emphasized the team’s spirit and energy.
“The team was pretty supportive,” Zhu said. “My favorite part of the meet is definitely the last relay, because everyone’s spirits are up.”
