After three years of team growth, City Girls Swimming has reached a milestone: the largest team in City High history.

There are 34 girls competing this year, three of whom are divers- the largest number of divers on the team since Zane Hugo was made coach in 2014.

“That’s been benefiting us a lot,” Hugo said. “We’ve been able to see more people’s strengths this year.”

This season is the third year of swimming for Kate Wilson ‘19, who is optimistic about the rest of the season.

“I think we have a lot of great swimmers this year,” Wilson said. “They’re really leading our team.”

Clara Froeschner ‘18, one of three team captains, agreed.

“I think we have a lot of younger swimmers who are stepping up,” Froeschner said. “I think everyone has learned a lot from last season and is ready to take on this season.”

From Hugo’s perspective, there is a lot to be optimistic about.

“If you look at the past few years, relays are faster now than they were at the end of the season,” he said. “Not just by half a second, but by two or three seconds.”

Hugo has already set goals for the rest of the season, for both the larger meets and the dual meets that come in between.

“I’m just looking for progression at every single meet,” he said. “I’m not always looking for a faster time, just that something is done better every single time.”

In order to accomplish this, Hugo has approached how he structures practice this year.

“This year I’m trying to get a little bit more intensity in practice. I think that that is what is going to cause us to have a little bit better taper by the end of the season when we rest.”

As a team captain, Froeschner has similar goals.

“Positivity and keeping consistent while racing,” she said. “We want to be aggressive in general both in mindset and in the water.”