It has been an eventful and fulfilling season for swimming and diving at Kent. Coach Zurolo says the girls’ team is “relatively-young and talented.” The boys’ team lineup consisted of several experienced swimmers and others who were new to the sport, while the girl’s team–having only graduated two seniors–had a group of strong returning swimmers.

Having gone through a hectic flu season mid-way through the winter, all of the coaches expressed difficulty keeping their teams in top shape this year. At one point, the swimming team was down to almost half of the members.

“The meets when everybody is present, we do very well,” says Coach Zurolo, but when numbers are lacking, it becomes more difficult. But the athletes have not let these challenges stop them from working hard and improving, and the coaches are very proud of the swimmers and how they have lowered their times since the start of the term.

“I’m very happy with the improvements that they’ve made, many of the swimmers have made very big improvements in terms of both how well and how fast they’re swimming,” says Coach Robey.

Coach Prickett describes the divers’ great team enthusiasm. “They come to practice recognizing that it’s a new day and leaving whatever happened, good or bad, from the day before where it was. That’s essential.” All the divers are very supportive of each other, always quick to encourage each other when they struggle to complete a dive. “There’s a certain empathy that comes with diving. They clap it out because even though you’re not the one ‘smacking,’ you’ve been there and you can relate.”

Coach Prickett explains that bravery and self-trust are essential. She also praised Ingrid Weissman ’22 and Jun Lee ’22 for their performances this year. Lee originally didn’t want to continue diving as a competitive sport, but now is one of the best on the team.

The divers have fun every practice, which ultimately is Coach Prickett’s goal for her team. “Winning is fun, but I’d rather them enjoy what they’re doing than be robots that win. A day without laughter is a day wasted, and we don’t waste any days.”

As for the teams’ plans going forward, Kent swimming and diving are preparing for the Founders League Tournament and the New England Tournament, hoping to wrap up their season on a positive note.