Swimming Finishes Strong Season

Freshman+Ryann+Grasser+takes+a+breath+during+breaststroke.

Freshman Ryann Grasser takes a breath during breaststroke.

The Fenwick Girls’ Swimming and Diving team has had a successful season that will continue into November. After finishing 13th in the state at the end of their 2017 season, the girls hope to return to state and make another big impact.

The girls so far have victories over schools including Chicago Lab Schools, Resurrection, Marist, and more. The only loss was to Rosary High School, the reigning state champions. Even against the best high school team in Illinois, the girls managed to win individual events.

The most impressive victory was over Fenwick’s cross-town rival down the street. The girls won a narrow victory over Oak Park and River Forest High School, completing one of their many goals for the season.

The next few weeks of the season consist of preparing for conference, sectionals, and state. As Senior Ciara Mulcahy says, “We have developed a lot more depth this year since graduating two of our fastest swimmers last year. The team has worked really hard to come back this season faster than ever and is ready to make an impact at state.”

At sectionals, the team is hoping to qualify as many individuals for state. The swimmers that qualify for state are hoping to swim their way through prelims, all the way to finals.

On Friday, October 12th, a few girls had their final Senior Night. During the meet, each senior walked with their family past the teammates with which they had shared the closest moments. After the meet, the juniors showed their appreciation by continuing the longstanding tradition of designing kickboards for each senior. It was a bittersweet moment for the seniors, as they saw how much of an impact they had made on the team.

Coach Renee Miller is in charge of making sure the girls swim as fast as possible. You can hear the swimmers call her “Mom” as they truly develop a connection with her both in and out of the pool. Senior Perri Stahl says, “I don’t know how she deals with all of us but I am so grateful for her, and she has seriously changed my life.”

Over the weekend of October 27th, the girls competed in their conference meets. The varsity and frosh/soph girls killed it at UIC on Saturday, placing 3rd in the MCAC meet. the Friars also won the JVMCAC conference on Sunday for the 8th year in a row.

The weekend of November 11th, the girls will see the payoff of their intense training at sectionals hosted here at Fenwick. As the season comes to an end, the swimmers hope to receive personal bests in every event they swim.