The Shrewsbury Girls’ Swim Team Opened with a Splash

TYNGSBOROUGH – The Shrewsbury High School girls’ swim team kicked off their winter season in dominating fashion last week. The Colonials had five individual victories, including two from freshman Ashley Liu, to beat Tyngsborough, 101-47, on the road.

Shrewsbury won all three relays, including the 200-yard medley (Maria Korneva, Liu, Hannah Reddick, Eile Purdy), the 200-yard freestyle (Liu, Reddick, Purdy, Jamie Li), and the 400-yard freestyle (Li, Purdy, Ainsley Kimball, Maria Kimball), and they won most of the individual events placing first in five of the eight individual swim events.

Colonials head coach Courtney Mulcahy was happy with the performances from her team in the first meet calling it a “good place to start.”

Shrewsbury was led by a number of talented underclassmen. Reddick, a sophomore, qualified for the Central Mass Sectional Championship meet to be held in February with her victory in the 200-yard freestyle (2:08.85) and her second-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly (1:07.57). She scored 10 points in the process for the team. Colonials’ freshman Liu scored 12 points by winning both the 200-yard individual medley (2:53.62) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:31.50). Sophomore Maria Korneva also won the 100-yard free (1:03.35) and junior Katie Colby took the 50-yard free (31.66).

Senior captain Eile Purdy

“I think our team this year is actually really good,” said Purdy, the senior captain of the girls’ team who finished 1-3 in their pandemic shortened 2020 season. “We have a lot of incoming sophomores and freshmen who are super-fast. They have been on other club teams before, so that’s good for us.”

The team is happy to win their first meet, but they’re even more enthused about in-person competition. Due to the pandemic last season, meets were conducted virtually, where two or more teams swim in separate pools, but are scored together as if they were competing in a live meet together. Heat sheets and session reports reflect the separate locations, but results and awards were combined as if the swim meet was in the same place. Virtual meets created more of a sterile atmosphere for the teams.

“We are so happy to be back to in-person competitions this season,” Mulcahy said. “Last year, virtual swim meets were anticlimactic. We would swim, but possibly not get our results for a few days.” She said swimmers this year can experience a more immediate satisfaction from competition. The swimmers are “able to cheer for one another again. You weren’t allowed to cheer last year, per Covid protocols,” she said. “So, it made competitions strange and eerie.”

Purdy was also a member of all three winning relays. Mulcahy described her captain as being a hard-working swimmer who is passionate about the sport. Purdy said she simply wants to be a strong leader to show the underclassmen what high school swimming is all about.

“I’m just trying to take what I’ve learned and teach it to the underclassmen,” Purdy said. “High school swimming is more team oriented, while club swimming is more individual. I think there’s a big team commitment part of it that is not involved with club swimming, where you can come and go as you please. High school is a team sport. One person is not enough. We rely on the group and that’s what they need to learn and I think we’re a good group together.”

As a senior and freestyle sprinting specialist for the team, Purdy’s goal this season is to keep the team close and committed, while also helping her relays qualify for the sectional and state championship meets at the end of the season. “Getting good relays together and getting back to states is a really big goal of mine and to end my senior season off with that would be great,” she said.

There are fifteen swimmers on the roster. As the season progresses, Mulcahy said Reddick and Korneva are probably the Colonials’ two most well-rounded swimmers on the team. “Hannah and Maria are powerhouses,” she said. “Watch out for these two young ladies. They are versatile and can swim any event. I am excited to see them in live competition, because their first experience with Shrewsbury High School Swimming last year was only virtual meets. I can’t wait to see their drive as they power down the lane next to an opponent. They are not afraid to show their grit. They are great friends who continuously push each other and hold one another accountable.”

Along with Korneva in the fly, the Colonials also had six second place finishers to score a combined 18 points for the team. They were Colby in the 100-yard breast (1:32.50), Ainsley Kimball in the 500-yard free (6:43.97), Purdy in the 100-yard free (1:08.43), and Shivangi DasGupta in the 50-yard free (33.50).

Mulcahy has enjoyed coaching this team so far this season. “They are a great group,” she said. “They are fun to be around. Even on a dark, cold night in the winter, I enjoy coming to practice to spend time with them.”

Shrewsbury’s next swim meet is against Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA) on Monday at the College of the Holy Cross pool.