Swim seniors recognized at last home meet

Leon+Chin+%2811%29+swims+the+fly+as+part+of+the+200+IM.+The+Varsity+swim+team+competed+at+its+last+home+meet+today+against+Sacred+Heart+Preparatory+School

Roshni Pankhaniya

Leon Chin (11) swims the fly as part of the 200 IM. The Varsity swim team competed at its last home meet today against Sacred Heart Preparatory School

The Varsity swim team honored four seniors at its last home meet today against Sacred Heart Preparatory School.

Prior to the start of the meet, seniors Kimberly Ma, Audebert Manon, Brian Tuan, and Kenneth Zhang were presented with a bouquet of roses and gifts from their team members for their hard-work and dedication to the team.

“Senior night is a great way to reward the seniors for all their effort and hard work throughout the season,” Parth Pendurkar (9) said. “It’s my first year swimming but I think senior night really helps us come together as a team.”

Though the team did not win the meet, its loss did not dampen its spirits.

“Honestly we’re not going to win and we’re going to lose by a lot, but I think that we’re going to put in our best efforts just for the seniors and celebrate all that they have done for us this season,” Jackelyn Shen said (11).

 The team has faced many challenges this season due to commitment issues and quits mid-season.

It’s been a hard season. A lot of people quit during the season so we have a lot less people than last year, but we’re trying our best to make up for that.

— Jackelyn Shen

Head Coach Ronni Gautschi echoed Jackelyn’s thoughts on commitment while also commenting on the team’s improvement throughout the season.

“We’ve definitely improved our times, which has been a goal of mine, but in the future I would like to see more commitment from the team,” Gautschi said. “They know that if they don’t come, they get kicked off the team and that if they can’t commit, then they need to quit.”

The team looks to improve times and see continued commitment from current swimmers for the rest of the season. JV and Varsity compete against Menlo School in an away meet next Wednesday.