Annie Price
The 2014 MC swim season has just ended, and wrapped up the series of overwhelming victories for the team.
“It was actually a really cool season,” senior Richa Chaturvedi said. “The girls kind of bounced back after a rough season last year, and we really came together and showed San Diego County what we’re made of.”
The boys also appreciated the efforts throughout the season.
“We had a strong team and they just kept getting stronger,” senior Jake Weber said. “They worked their asses of the entire time.”
The girls team definitely made a splash with an undefeated season. It all came down to the last races in Leagues.
“We had actually beat Torrey Pines in the dual meet so we came up to Leagues and we were 100 points behind them […] We actually made up all 100 points. Every single person on the team moved up a seat,” Chaturvedi said.
And they won the relay. The MC girls finished three seconds in front of Torrey Pines.
However, with a small technicality that states that a swim team can’t jump back in the water after a relay until every team is finished, MC’s win wasn’t counted, and they shared the title as co-champions with Torrey Pines.
“It was pretty hard because we all swam so hard to make up those points as a team,” Chaturvedi said. “But I think we knew we were the best team on deck even after that happened.”
The significance of the win is evident in the previous record of Torrey Pines.
“They pretty much beat Torrey Pines, and they’re the first team to do that in six years,” Weber said.
And despite their hard loss in the MC Invite, the boys also attacked the season with an unprecedented motivation.
“The boys actually bounced back after a couple tough losses to become league co-champions and CIF champions with us,” Chaturvedi said.
MC set a record this year, with the outstanding results for both teams.
“For the first time in Mt. Carmel history the teams have won together,” Chaturvedi said.
And now, as graduation approaches for the seniors, they look back on their experiences as swimmers.
“I think the experience changes as you grow up and move through the team,” Chaturvedi said. “As a captain it was cool to be able to lead a team, knowing what their potential was. This year was a pretty special year. It was cool as a senior to have that be the final hurrah for us.”
So what’s next for MC swim? With some of the best swimmers the school has ever seen graduating out, it’s up to the younger ones to step up and carry the team.
“That’s going to be tough,” Chaturvedi said. “I think what they have to do is try not to be the team that we were this year and try to become their own team. They need to try to create their own identity rather than trying to follow ours.”
