Despite the recent Texas winter freeze, a week after Southwestern University classes started, the Pirate swimmers, with black pirate swim caps, jumped into the pool, ready to face off against their rival, the Trinity Tigers. Before the meet kicked off, the team honored their seniors for their hard work, as it was their last home meet for the season. 

The Pirates and Tigers warmed up, taking laps in their respective lanes and loosening up their body for the upcoming meet. After all the athletes warmed up, the Pirates prepared the pool, putting in the touch pads on both sides of the lanes. Then, the seniors came out with their family members while their fellow Pirates cheered them on.

“It’s kind of been a wild thing to think that this is my last home meet,” said Senior Men’s Captain Zach Kingieser. “During my 11-year swim career, I’ve been with a lot of clubs, but I appreciate the time I had here on the SU swim team.”

The seniors and families made their way to the wall opposite the stands and formed a line for pictures. “It gets a little emotional, watching their career over the four years, from recruiting them as high school seniors to their last home meet,” Coach Jon Duncan reflected on his time with his senior athletes. After taking photos, the pirates dispersed to prepare mentally prepare. The Tigers huddled up and did their chant, their voices echoing the Walzel pool building. The Pirates wasted no time to chant in return, their voices just as loud. 

The meet kicked off with the 200-yard medley race. The men’s medley got second place, and the women’s team took first place with a half-second lead! 

The next event was the 1000-yard freestyle. For reference, the Walzel pool is only 25 yards, so for this meet, both teams had to swim 20 50-yard laps. Kylie Allemeier started strong, and her teammates cheered her on. However, Trinity’s Erica Peterson managed to catch up to her, taking first place. As the meet went on, the Walzel building echoed with both teams shouting “GO! GO! GO!” repeatedly as their respective teammates breathed in between strokes. After the men’s 50-yard freestyle, the pirates rearranged the pool, moving the lane divider for the first two lanes to the side. Then, after the pool was clear, the diving event began. 

As the first diver of the event stepped on the board, the room became quiet. Then, the applause and the announcement of scores filled in the suspense. After a couple of rounds of dives, Junior Abigail Walker placed 2nd in the 1-meter dive with a total of 179.35, and First-Year Cooper Wilson placed 3rd in the 3-meter dive with 212.95. 

While the swim and dive team fell short of Trinity, some Pirates managed to make history: First-Year Antonia Leese improved her seed time and took first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:07.03, Junior Emma Williams managed to tie with Trinity’s Emma Hagan with a time of 24.84, and First-Year Cooper Wilson broke the school record in the 3-meter dive with a score of 212.95. The Pirate swim team has one remaining meet against UT Permian Basin before heading to the SCAC Championship in Garland, TX, on February 14th. 

Results:

Event 1: Women’s 200-yard Medley Relay 

1st place: Elise Samples, Antonia Leese, Ella Bonvillian, and Emma Williams

Time: 1:50:32

Event 7: Women’s 100-yard Breastroke

1st place: Antonia Leese

Time: 1:07:80

Event 9: Women’s 100-yard Backstroke

1st place: Ellie Samples

Time: 1:01:01

Event 14: Men’s 50-yard Freestyle 

1st place: Eli Allen

Time: 22.12

Event 19: Women’s 200-yard Backstroke

1st place: Ellie Samples

Time: 2:14:48