At his final meet in the Park pool, senior Luca Giovannelli said he was happy to see the team swimming its best through the end of the final event.

“(The meet) went really well, it was really competitive and it was really close. It came down to the last relay, so it’s good that we came out on top,” Giovannelli said.

Senior captain Connor Coleman said it was exciting to swim against Hopkins for senior night.

“It was good we came out with a win, a lot of people dropped time and it was just a fun final meet against one of our biggest rivals,” Coleman said.

According to assistant coach Joe Yaeger, because there are fewer swimmers on the team everyone has been working harder at practice, which pays off at competitive meets like senior night.

“With a small team this year — only 20 guys, the boys really stepped up, they improved all across the board from the newest swimmer to the oldest swimmer,” Yaeger said. “They pushed themselves and made the team better.”

Giovannelli said despite missing out on some of the team bonding the team would normally have, he was happy to have a senior season amid the pandemic.

“It’s been good, it sucked because we weren’t allowed to have pasta parties and team sleepovers like we usually do, but it was still fun to see everyone again,” Giovannelli said. “Swimming-wise, the season was pretty similar to usual but the social aspect was different.” 

According to Yaeger, it’s important to celebrate senior night to honor all the seniors and the impact they’ve had on the team before they graduate.

“It recognizes those kids who have been with the team for an extended amount of time and have really worked hard throughout the season. It’s rewarding to send them off with a nice party,” Yaeger said.

Coleman said after all his years on the swim team, he is going to miss it, but was glad that the team won his last meet at home.

“It was sad knowing that was my last time competing in a pool. You really don’t think this day would come, so it was sad,” Coleman said.