“Take your mark,” The official says, his voice sounding muffled and distorted through the speaker. The girls on the blocks grip their hands on the edge and lean back, ready to start the race. Mere seconds, an eternity of silence for the girls who anxiously await their swim, seem to pass, when suddenly: BEEP! The loud sound of the starter goes off, ricocheting off the walls and ringing in the ears of the spectators. The girls launch themselves into the water in a tight streamline. The deafening cheers of their teammates at the other end of the pool fill the room and echo throughout the halls of the empty school.

On Thursday, December 10th, Padua competed in its first swim meet of the season against Brandywine High School and Ursuline Academy at Claymont Elementary School. The meet started off with the 200 Medley Relay. The Ursuline team took first, with Padua’s relay coming in second not too far behind. As the night went on, the lead kept shifting between Ursuline and Padua, but Padua managed to score some more points by snatching first place in the 200 Individual Medley, 100 Butterfly, and 500 Freestyle. Junior Emily Pfeifer took first in the 500 in 5:35.17, seventeen seconds faster than Ursuline’s Rylee McGonigle who came in  second place. Padua’s Junior Emily Stuebing and Freshman Sarah Jane Mee also scored points by taking first and second in the 100 Backstroke. The night ended with a close race in the 400 Freestyle Relay, Ursuline’s team touching out Padua’s relay by 0.86 seconds.

“I am very optimistic about the upcoming season,” Sarah Jane said, “A lot of girls qualified for States in the first meet which is amazing. Also, we only lost our meet [to Ursuline] by 8 points. With a little more practice, the Padua swim team is going to be fierce!”

Freshman Victoria Bartlett agreed saying, “The upcoming season is going to be great. The team is very fast and supportive. They’ll always be there to cheer each other on.”

In the end, Ursuline took first place overall, scoring 51-43 against Padua and 73-21 against Brandywine. Padua took second, scoring 76-18 against Brandywine. Overall, it was a great night of swimming for all four teams, with many swimmers reaching the qualifying times  for the State Championships. This close meet is the beginning of a promising season for the Padua Swim Team.