The girls’ and boys’ swim teams are experiencing a standout season, fueled by team camaraderie and passion.
The teams concluded the regular season meets with winning records of 9-2 for the girls and 8-3 for the boys. Their wins are a testament to the dedication demonstrated by the captains, swimmers, coaches and 10 managers. Over the past 28 years, head coach Jean Fedak has watched the team evolve.
“[The] four co-captains—senior Tanya Clemens, junior Mina Chung, senior Rushil Singh and junior Simon Linden—have worked to build upon the team culture that has blossomed over these 28 years,” Fedak said via email. “Their ability to communicate, inspire and lead by example has provided their teammates with incredible leadership both in and out of the pool, resulting in a winning mindset and a positive and fun environment.”
Clemens, who swims the 500 meter (m) Freestyle, 50m Breast and 200m Medley Relay, recognized how the coaching and the team’s abilities have resulted in impressive outcomes.
“It’s not like other sports where only the top people are valued,” Clemens said. “Mrs. Fedak always says our strength is in the depth of our team…There have been meets where the other team will get first, but we’ll still win the meet because we have a stronger two, three, four and five [swimmers].”
Clemens credits individuals like Linden and sophomore Christian Luciano for their positive mindsets, which contributes to the team’s success.
“I haven’t heard either of them ever complain about a race when they don’t do well, which I like,” Clemens said. “I like it when someone says, ‘Oh, well, my time wasn’t great, but I worked on these specific things, and I improved on them.’ I don’t think I’ve ever really heard anything negative from either of them.”
The team’s closeness is evident from the “Just Dance” sessions at every pasta party, the spirit days that everyone takes part in and the return of graduated swimmers to visit team events.
“I want everyone to feel included, so I try to connect with everyone because I think it’s important,” Clemens said. “I don’t like to view it as, ‘These are my friends on the team.’ I want to say, ‘This is my team.’”
Linden, who specializes in the 200m Individual Medley (IM), the 200m and 100m Breast and 50m Freestyle, believes the group has benefited from the optimistic attitude.
“We lost a lot of seniors last year and a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, no, it’s gonna be a big hit to our team,’ but we rebuilt, and I think we’re doing really well,” Linden said. “We have a lot of team spirit this year, and I hope that everyone’s having fun. That’s what I’ve been seeing.”
After every meet, the captains commemorate two swimmers with something called “Swimmie of the Meet.” There’s only one issue—there are often many deserving of the award.
“Me and the other captains argue, in a good way, over who we think should get it, because every single meet, there is a swimmer or multiple that stand out,” Linden said. “I think you can’t really place it on any specific person.”
Linden is highly committed to the sport. He spends seven hours a week training during the high school season, and 15 hours a week during the club season.
“It makes it very difficult to keep up with school and everything; sometimes I have to miss school events or I have to miss practice,” Linden said. “But I think it’s worth the sacrifice because I really do enjoy swimming.
Chung, who typically swims the 200m IM and 100m Breast as well as two relays, recognized the challenges that accompany swimming.
“It’s a known thing in swim to plateau when you’re 13 or 14, so I’ve kind of been working to get over that period of time where I’m just not improving,” Chung said. “You’re putting in work, but you’re not receiving anything back from that…It’s definitely nice to see your work paying off again after all the time of nothing.”
Last year, Chung won The Telegram and Gazette’s “Swimmer of the Year” award and she looks forward to making a splash at the upcoming states and sectionals competitions.
“It’s very rewarding to hear all the wins from people qualifying for states for our girls’ relay,” Chung said. “It was really exciting because we haven’t done that yet during [my time in] high school swim, so that was really fun.”
Although this is his last year on the team, Singh, who swims the 200m Freestyle and 100m Breast, hopes to influence the future of the program.
“I want to leave an impact on this team that shows how important having a good community and family and team is,” Singh said. “[I also want to] inspire others to keep swimming and just leave the team a better place than when I joined it.”
Singh remains committed and proud of the group.
“We’re tightly knit and we’re all friends and that’s why we’re so accepting of each other,” Singh said. “We get along well, so I would say we’re like a family.”