As the weather gets colder and fall sports come to a close, it’s time for winter sports to begin. Many teams are excited for their turn to get back out and compete, one of which being the swim team, who’s looking to improve their standings this year.

After placing fourth in regionals last season, swim is looking to hopefully place even higher this year, and with many new faces joining the team, it seems like a real possibility.

“I just started swimming for Stone Bridge this year,” sophomore Angelina Massimo said. “[The team wants] to try and do better than they did last year, try to one-up themselves, and also just have a good time and make sure everybody has fun.”

With this idea in mind, many players have individual goals to help end the season strong while also enjoying time together as a team. Some of these goals include breaking personal records, improving physical health, and bonding with each other outside of the pool.

“I would like to get new personal records and make new friends on the team,” sophomore Niva Tuladhar said. “But overall I think everyone wants to have fun and socialize and do our best in all of the meets.”

One of the ways swim has been able to connect with one another is through team events organized by the captains. There are a variety of activities the team gets to participate in, such as going to bowling alleys or arcades. These events allow for the team to not only have fun but to build a connection with one another.

“We love organizing fun events like going to a trampoline park, a laser tag arena, and a white elephant gift exchange,” senior Olivia LeCount said. “These activities positively affect our team because we are able to bond outside of the pool. With these team-building exercises, we are able to all become closer friends.”

All of these factors greatly contribute to the excitement and determination of the team. Even after suffering two losses during their first meets, the team is staying motivated to bounce back.

“We’ve lost the two first meets that we’ve had, and, yes, we were all disappointed, but it’s the thought that we tried and pushed through!” sophomore Michelle Mendoza said.

After fans were restricted from coming to games last season, many teams, including swim, are excited to get back into action with a live audience. It’s important that students come and support teams in their competitions because it can make all the difference.

“Right now for our meets we don’t usually have a lot of people who come, but I think that if more people came to support us it would help us do better and up the spirits a little bit,” Massimo said. “I think it would be really beneficial for the team.”