Twenty-six swimmers and five divers make up the girls swim and dive team. Only three seniors were lost from last year’s team, and 10 new swimmers joined this year. Coach Jessica Graslie believes this season’s team will be comparable to last winter’s.

“I think the first meet next Wednesday will really show us what the team has this year versus last year,” Coach Graslie said.

Due to the large number of returning girls, the team is already familiar with each other. Senior Madi Wagner, a team captain, says the girls are already close to one another.

“We already have good chemistry and work well together,” Wagner said. “We know our strengths and weaknesses.”

The first weeks of practice concentrated on building a base of yardage for the swimmers and teaching dives to the divers. Learning the basics is essential for the team to swim at its first meet on Dec. 11.

“We really put in a lot of yardage in these first few weeks to get them conditioned to compete. They’ve also been focusing on good technique on all strokes,” Coach Graslie said. “The new divers are quickly learning the six dives they need to be able to do to compete.”

The girls swim team is expected to do well this year by their coach and captain. The team this year is large and, according to Coach Graslie, includes exceptional swimmers and divers.

“I’m hoping to increase our win record from last year. The team only lost three meets last year, and if we improve to only losing two meets, I’ll be happy,” Coach Graslie said.