The U of D swim and dive team makes a big splash at Groves High School on January 7th as they beat the number one contender for the state championship title. This year was a rocky start for the Cub Swimmers as they barely won against Troy High School. But this past weekend at Groves Highschool there was a different team than before.
The swim team is led by Coach Drew Edson who has been working these boys hard over winter break preparing them to swim fast. Prior to this meet the swim and dive team was invited to the Jesuit Cup down in Cincinnati hosted by Xavier high school. Everyone performed remarkably considering there were no rest days (excluding Christmas) and the 4-hour drive down to Ohio. This was all just in preparation for the biggest meet so far of the season on January 7th against Groves Highschool.
A common thing said by Coach Edson is to “outclass, outcheer, and out preform other contending teams.” That was done this weekend, and the swimmers have been working tirelessly for this victory as they trained 2 practices a day over the break excluding the holidays. Both teams highly anticipated this meet, as the Cubs only lost by two points at the state championship meet last season, ending the 2022-2023 season. The UofD boys were ready for this meeting. I asked the swimmers what helped them perform the best. Some said that Coach Edson’s talk was phenomenal and really got them going. Others say that it was their fellow teammate Kiernan Tague finally being strong enough to come back and support them right on the pool Deck. Some even said that the high attendance in the stands helped motivate them to do better than ever before, and really show what UofD is about. Alex Hurley, captain of the swim team says that it was a blend of many things, but it was mainly “our fellow swimmer and dear friend Kiernan showing up to the meet showing his support as well as the large group of alumni that came to support all the swimmers”. The team was ready to go after the pre-meet hype. Everything was looking great from cheering to swimming, there was not a single swimmer who didn’t leave their all in the pool. The team looked stronger than ever and was just about halfway through their season. Captain Will Waldman said, “It felt so great to see the whole team work hard and achieve what needed to be done”. The swimmers put in some fantastic performances this weekend against groves and there is more to come. This is a true statement as the entire meet was phenomenal to watch and swim in.
Swimming is a difficult sport that is overlooked by a lot of other sports. Not many people realize the amount of work that swimmers put into the sport, let alone the cub swimmers who have ten practices a week. Being a part of the team is a certain type of dedication that many people would not be able to stay committed to. That’s what makes this U of D swim and dive program so incredible. The U of D community needs to realize that the swim program is a big attraction not only for the school but also other students who look to attend this school. There has been a culture built around the team where it all truly feels like a family. Most schools would not be able to relate to this feeling one bit. Many sports cannot even relate to this feeling. Senior on the team Max Diaz said that “we spend more time with each other in these four months than we do with our own families, and that really does make it feel as though we are a family”.
So, what can we expect from our cub swimmers in the future and the rest of this season. Based on the high dedication and motivation there will be several swimmers that will attend the state meet this year. The team will do incredible things that exemplify what it is about. I highly recommend showing up and supporting your fellow cub swimmers because this year is going to be different.