During the winter season, both the Girls’ Swimming and Girls’ Squash teams won first in their individual Founders League Championships. Girls’ Swimming beat last year’s Founders Champions, Loomis Chaffee, and Girls’ Squash beat last year’s first place team, Hotchkiss. Both teams demonstrated perseverance, determination, and most importantly, passion for the sport.
The Girls’ Swimming Founders were held at Hotchkiss this year, and Choate finished in first place with 489 points, while Loomis finished in second with 459 points. Going into the meet, they were determined to win gold, as losing to Loomis last year was heartbreaking. During the meet, Samantha Scott ’20, Zoe Tray ’21, Isabelle So ’20, and Laila Hawkins ’19 broke the Founders’ record for the 200 Medley Relay. They broke the record and won gold with the time of 1:50.23
Overall, the girls team had an amazing team win. They placed top three in every single relay. Individually, there were a number of outstanding swims. Zoe Tray ’21 and Claire Yuan ’21 both placed third in their individual events and Samantha Scott ’20 placed first in one event and second in her other individual event. Josephine Mah ’18 placed top five in two individual events.
Squash’s Founders League is slightly different. There isn’t actually a tournament for Founders. Rather, it is the season’s record that determines who is the champion of the Founders League. According to Ms. Pelletier, the Girls’ Squash team worked “incredibly hard, pushing through countless grueling pressure sessions, tabatas, and Ms. P’s creative fitness routines.”
The Choate Girls’ Squash team had their final Founders League game against Hotchkiss, the previous year’s winning champions. They were determined and ready for any challenge they were given. They lost Founders in a close match against Hotchkiss in the previous year and they were back, stronger than ever, and looking for redemption. Even though the team knew Hotchkiss was going to be the toughest team they faced all season, they went in with confidence, knowing they had a strong team.
The girls went in knowing they still needed to work hard and focus on their matches. They also knew it wasn’t going to be an easy match, so they needed to prepare themselves. Choate rolled over the strong Hotchkiss team on its way to a dominant 5-2 victory.
Ms. Pelletier said that these accomplishments were not only reached through hard work, but also through “dedication to competing with grace, poise, and respect for both their opponents and the referees.”
It has been an amazing season for both Choate’s Girls’ Swimming and Girls’ Squash teams. It was only through dedication, perseverance, and passion for the sport that these accomplishments were achieved.
