The women’s swim team recorded their third loss of the season this weekend after competing against the Azusa Pacific University Cougars on Nov. 7. The team proved a tough match and the women lost to APU 61-144.
Pushing Through
Sophomore Victoria Dunbar said the team pushed through fatigue at the meet since this is their fourth competition in a row.
“We didn’t rest at all for this meet so we were swimming through it. This is the time of the season where we need to keep fighting for it and stick together,” Dunbar said.
Individual Success
APU’s team won 23 of the 25 individual events and secured the top three spots in the 200-backstroke. However, the women still did well overall at the meet by finishing strong in some individual events.
Sophomore Lisa Tixier excelled in the 200-yard butterfly with a first place finish. Junior Christina Ali overcame APU’s swimmers by taking first in the 200-yard breaststroke, and also placed third in the 200-yard IM .44 seconds after freshman Abigail Wiet.
A Tough Opponent
However, APU excelled in the distance events at this meet. Rosalee Santa Ana proved a tough opponent, finishing 25 seconds faster than second place time in the 500-yard freestyle. APU also took the top three spots in the 1000-yard freestyle. Senior Abby Blake came close to Santa Ana in the 200-yard freestyle, finishing only five seconds after.
The team has done well in relay events this season and freshman Liliana Barrett, Ali, Tixier and senior Angela Kirschner secured second place in the 200-yard medley relay. The team also took second in 400-yard freestyle relay, finishing less than a second behind APU’s team.
Encouragement
Teammates support and encourage each other to stay strong throughout the season.
“We pray together and we just rely on each other because knowing that everyone else is in the same boat, everyone else is just as tired, help us give each other strength to keep fighting through,” Dunbar said.
The team has also worked on growing spiritually together this season, which strengthens team unity and creates a positive team dynamic.
“We’ve been working a lot on our spiritual development as a team,” Dunbar said. “It’s been really cool to see that change this year of not how we can just help each other but how we can help each other grow spiritually in God, and you see the difference in the team and the team dynamic because of that change.”
Next Meet
The team’s next meet is the Soka Invitational at Soka University on Nov. 14.
