Peddie Swimming successfully represented Peddie in three important meets this month after having to endure a tough training regimen, early morning practices, and long hours of traveling.

The team traveled to Connecticut early last week to compete against Suffield and Andover, hosted Germantown four days later, and traveled once again to Mercersburg three days after that.

“I feel like we did quite well up until the Mercersburg meet, as the intense meet schedule, travel, and training gradually wore us down, both physically and mentally,” Winston Yau ’18 said.

Yau also explained how the traveling took a toll on the athletes, saying, “At the Mercersburg meet we had to jump in right away to warm up and then start, and our bodies were not as prepared as we would have liked them to be,” Yau said.

Despite these hurdles, the men’s team still managed to bring home wins for Peddie in all three of their meets.

“Although the traveling was taxing on our bodies, we were still able to perform well because of our strong mentalities,” Charleen Chen ’17 said when asked about the toll the traveling takes on the team. “We swim for the team; not ourselves. It doesn’t matter if we are tired because we have a responsibility to swim fast for our teammates and for the swim program’s legacy,” she continued.

“Traveling definitely makes it more difficult to get up and race as best as we can, but it’s an aspect of playing a sport that all athletes have to learn to adjust to,” Katie Hensler ’17 said.

Although the women’s team suffered a few losses throughout these meets, the athletes are continuing to support each other, get stronger, and improve their times.

“Several girls swam their best times at these meets,” Chen ’17 said. “The women’s team just struggled a little more with scoring points because our team is quite small and filled with underclassmen who haven’t reached their full potential yet.”

The women’s and men’s teams alike will continue to improve this week as they prepare to travel to The Hill School for their final dual meet of the season. In February, both teams will be competing in MAPLs and Easterns. Peddie Mens Swimming consists of 26 swimmers, while the women’s team has 14 swimmers. In the past two years, the men’s team won Easterns Championships while the women have placed in the top; 2nd and 4th.  This year both teams are hoping for fast swimming and success.