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A Swimmer’s Reflection on the Culmination of Swim Season and Conference Championships

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On February 17 marked the first out of three days conference champions. Let me tell you, the bus ride to Germantown, MD was the complete opposite on that Sunday February 19. The bus ride was emotionally wrecked, with swimming being over for the year and the last big meet for the seniors.

Both the Goucher men and women teams came in 6th overall out of 7 teams competing for the championships title at this meet. After three days of cheering for each other, and team bonding, the team is proud to look back on the 2022-23 Goucher Swim team’s accomplishments.

At 10 in the morning each day of competition, the Gophers were up and at it in the water, kicking fast and setting new personal records for themselves. The swimmers would come back each day at 3pm for the finals. This included dropping times, and it was a close race for some of our swimmers. No matter if none of us made it to the finals, we still had each other’s backs, and cheered for our friends on other teams. 

Ella Robinson ‘25 said the team is “very close, like a family relationship with everyone.” With this in mind, the Gophers were supporting everyone and being respectful to the other swimmers. 

Starting off on the first day of competition, we had the 200 free relay for both our mens and women’s teams. First to dive into the water was our women’s team. The men’s team waited anxiously behind their lane, and cheered at the top of their lungs. By finishing strong with all four women’s relay swimmers, we finished 6th. 

“The swim team is very dedicated, hardworking and a bunch of caring people,” said Captain Liam McDonald ‘23. 

Friday Finals were pretty quiet, as no Gophers competed in individual races. Until it came to the relays at the end of finals, the swimmers were wishing them good luck from across the pool, and doing dances to get them warmed up for the race.

By the time day 2 of competition came on Saturday, the Gophers started to make some more finals. The rest of the team cheered for those who made that final cut and again wished them luck in the events.

The swimmers all lined up at the blocks warming up, and everyone else wished them luck and cheered as loud as they could. 

The team remains in 6th place overall, for mens and women. The women with 114 points

and the men catching up with 108 points. Two of the Gophers, one from the women’s team and one from the men’s, even made the Goucher Top Ten Times! 

Finally as we wrap up the competition, Goucher is still standing in 6th place for the mens and women’s teams. The women with 151 points and the men with 10 points below with 141 points. 

For the last relay, the crowd went crazy, music blasting and all the teams cheering, singing and dancing. 

Noah Moudarres ‘25 said it was “an experience to be cherished forever.” 

Once the team wrapped up the last relay everyone boarded the bus. It was a night to remember. On the drive home, everyone sang along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and getting all hyped up. It was one of those experiences where you had to be there to truly understand. 

Captain Richie Bialik ‘23 said, “the swim team is my college swim family,” which is the exact environment any college athlete hopes to find in their sport. 

Some of the swimmers even lost their voice the next day, exemplifying that they cheered for their team very loud. 

When I asked some members of the swim team what they thought of each other, most of the responses included the whole team. 

“I wake up every day to get in the water. I swim and ask myself why I’m there. I get out of the water tired and tell myself I’ll never do it again. I think of the team. I wake up every day to get in the water again,” said Christian Houck ‘26. 

McDonald said the Goucher swim team is “my family away from home,” Annalia Rivera ‘26 said that the team has “good spirit,” and Ben Graff ‘26 called it a “close knit community.”

As a member of the team, all the responses rang true and were so sweet. I couldn’t imagine being on a better swim team, with such thoughtful and caring teammates. I’m sure that the feeling of camaraderie is universal across all of Goucher’s sports, especially going into their championship games. Just being on a sports team in college is a big deal. The swim team is made up of a bunch of unique individuals that make up this swimming family. 

Can’t wait to see you all next year in the water and just keep swimming for the Goucher swim team.

Alana (she/her) is a first-year Staff Writer at The Quindecim. Her major is currently undecided, but she is considering Communication and Media Studies. Alana is from Bronx, New York and is a graduate of Frank McCourt High School. She is a member of Goucher's varsity swim team. When she's not in the pool or studying, she enjoys listening to music and watching Netflix.

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