Swim and dive: together but equal

Despite their inherent differences, swim & dive compete and practice together. The combined practices strengthen the bond between the teams.

“I really love the communal environment and how the whole team is like one big family,” junior and swimmer Gabriela Stapleton said.

On Thursday nights, both teams have a pasta party before competing in meets the following day.

At meets, swim competes in 11 events for boys and an equal amount for girls, while dive competes in only one event per gender. Because of this disparity, sophomore and diver Matthew Warren said the two teams should split.

“I think swim & dive should be separated because there are 24 events that go toward the final score, but dive counts for only two of those events which doesn’t impact the outcome,” Warren said.

But not everyone in the program wants the teams to be seperate. Stapleton said the dive team earns valuable points to help the team.

“Our dive team is really good so they always get us extra points to help us win,” Stapleton said.

Freshman and diver Teresa Capuano-Rizzo said the dive team does not contribute much to the final score.

“The whole dive team counts as two swim events so [dive] doesn’t give much to the total score of the meet,” Capuano-Rizzo said.

Despite the differences between the teams, swim & dive continue to compete together.

Sophomore and diver Matthew Warren prepares his dive at the meet against Hayfield Secondary School on Jan. 19.