Captain’s Log: Get to know five teams

Which song do you blast in the locker room?
We definitely love to sing along to what’s playing on the speakers during practice. “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift is a team favorite. Even the boys join in!

If you all weren’t swimmers and divers and had to all compete at another sport, which one would you be the best at?
If sharks and minnows was a competitive sport… the swimmers play it during practice once a month. Most of the divers are actually really good at pole-vaulting and/or gymnastics.

If your team were a TV show, which one would it be?
“Modern Family.”

Describe the personality of your team in five words.
Goofy. Tight-knit. Food-loving. Competitive. Strong.

Do you have any team traditions?
Throughout the year, everybody has a “Secret Psych Sis,” or SPS, that makes them posters or buys them snacks to get them pumped up for every meet! You don’t find out who your SPS is until conference championships, so it’s a nice surprise at the end of the season (if you haven’t figured it out already).

For conference championships, the seniors make a personalized paper beaver for all the girls on the team (the boys get sharks). They’re super cute and decorated with objects and quote bubbles that reflect inside jokes or little personality quirks of that swimmer.

Which five words best describe your team?
Giddy. Dedicated. Intelligent. Quirky. Loyal.

What’s your favorite team tradition?
Come championship season, every girl makes a poster for a guy on the men’s team. We put them up secretly in their locker room a few days before the conference meet. We also just go kind of wild in their locker room, painting mirrors with chalk and throwing streamers all over.

The men’s team delivers “secret” roses to the women’s locker room, one for each of us. I think this tradition is really symbolic of the amazing relationship we have with our male counterparts. They are so supportive of us, as we are of them, and it makes being a swimmer/diver here that much more fun. They are really handsome too, which is a plus!

What is your team theme song?
Probably “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera. It is so empowering!

If your team were a TV show, which one would it be?
If we were a TV show, we would probably be the show “New Girl.” Jess is so quirky and fun. Also, she lives in an apartment with a bunch of male friends. Their place gets a little dysfunctional at times, as you can imagine. But, they get through tough situations and adversity through their loyalty to each other. Our school is really tough, being a top-five school academically, and I think if we didn’t have a fun and supportive team environment  then we wouldn’t be able to keep such a fast and dedicated team. Our women’s team current senior class has had 100 percent retainment from freshman year — not a single one of us has dropped out of the team. You know something awesome and special is going on when that is the case.

If your team had to play another sport besides swimming and diving, what would it be?
It would definitely be ultimate frisbee. During the first few weeks of the season, while the weather is still warm in Chicago, everyone gets so excited on the few days our coach lets us play ultimate frisbee outside as our dryland exercise before practice. After the season is over, we have “Frisbee Fridays” where everyone meets at the same park after classes are over for the day to play frisbee for hours. It’s a great way for us to make sure we see each other and stay fit during the offseason.

What’s your team’s pump-up jam?
We’d have to go with “Stereo Love” because that song definitely causes the most dancing in the weight room. We love listening to music while we work out.

If your team were a TV show, which one would it be?
Related to our answer from question one, we’d have to say “So You Think You Can Dance.”

If you all weren’t swimmers and divers and had to compete at another sport, which one would you choose?
A lot of the women on our team have competed in other sports including water polo, synchronized swimming, sailing, lacrosse and soccer but our talents in these areas are definitely not shared across the board. However, during our captains practices, the team always enjoys playing ultimate frisbee on the quads for part of Saturday morning practices. Some girls on the team are really good at it and everyone gets really competitive and into the game.

Do you have any team traditions?
We like to host pasta nights the night before dual meets so that we can all get pumped up for the meet and have a healthy dinner.

Which five words would you use to describe your team?
Dedicated. Competitive. Focused. Gregarious. Goofy.

What’s a Kenyon team tradition?
Every home meet, the ladies walk out of the locker rooms to the team clap.

What do you listen to in the locker room?
A mishmash of the music: we all love different varieties of music, ranging from hip-hop and rap to alternative and country. What’s playing in the locker room depends on whose iPod has found the speakers.

Describe your squad in five words.
Sisterhood. Reliable. Competitive. Loud. Supportive.

Which TV show best personifies your team?
“Friday Night Lights.”

If your team had to play another sport besides swimming and diving, which would it be?
As a team we’d probably be pretty solid at cross-country running (no hand-eye coordination required) and other track events.

If your team had to compete in another sport besides swimming and diving, what would it be?
We would definitely have to say water polo. In the offseason, we play sports like soccer and ultimate frisbee together, and to be honest it’s kind of embarrassing how uncoordinated we are outside of the water!

What five words best describe your team?
Quirky. Motivated. Dependable. Conscientious. Silly.

Do you have any team traditions?
Before the season starts, we play a different sport every Friday to enjoy the nice weather and stay in shape. During the season we go apple-picking, to a haunted house, and always have holiday themed get-togethers like gingerbread house-making competitions. In Miami, during training trip we always have one day off and do something fun together like snorkeling or kayaking.

If your team had a theme song what would it be and why?
At our winter championship meet the entire team broke out in Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” on pool deck, which really got us pumped up.

What TV cast is your team most like?
We think our team as a whole could be described as “The Big Bang Theory” (especially because of the nature of our school). Everyone tends to be really witty and can over-analyze even the simplest things.  Pool deck has a tendency to turn into a comedy show even before practice begins. But that’s not to say we don’t have plenty of Pennys on the team.