Nauset Swimming And Diving Teams Start Strong Before Extended Break

NORTH EASTHAM – As much as Nauset swimming coach Jenn Stevens recognizes the importance of stacking victories, she is even more concerned about building depth for the Warriors boys and girls swimming and diving teams.

After losing a few valuable and impactful upperclassmen to graduation in recent years, Stevens began this season with the goal of adding depth to both teams.

“We have some strong swimmers that came back, but we have a bunch of new kids that are swimming for the first time,” Stevens said Dec. 19, when both teams earned victories over visiting St. John Paul II at Willy’s Gym before taking a couple weeks off for the holidays.

“We’re really trying to build up our program after losing quite a few upperclassmen the past few years. For me, today was really focusing on watching everybody, build up their form, and seeing the depth of our program.”

The two teams feature a combined six eighth graders which marks the most during Stevens’ tenure as coach.

“Some of them are brand new to swimming,” she said, adding that the girls team has just one freshman. “But we haven’t had as many kids that are new. We have so many kids that are coming in from club [programs] but not a lot of kids that are coming that have never swam before.

“The beginning of the season is really about building your depth. We’re not really working on speed and cuts right now, we’re really working on building our depth.”

Although Stevens has emphasized building good form and strong swimming habits rather than focusing on early-season results, both teams have experienced success to start the season, beginning at the Cape and Islands Relay Carnival on Dec. 9 at Sandwich High School.

The boys and girls relay teams combined for 121 points, outlasting Sandwich (117) and Nantucket (84) to claim the team title.

“It was such a big boost,” said boys captain Will Crowell, a senior from Dennis. “Being able to pull out that win was great.”

Stevens said Crowell is one of leaders of the program who should compete for postseason berths in addition to vying for school records.

“[Will] is a few seconds away from some of our records,” the coach said. “We’re hoping that he’ll be able to get close to them and get back to the postseason.”

The same can be said for senior co-captain Nina Mako for the girls.

“She made states in every event that she tried last year,” Stevens said. “She was within a couple seconds in some of her events, so that’s one of our goals for her — trying to push those records by the end of the season.”

Although the teams are only a couple weeks into the season, both have already established strong bonds. The girls team followed up the Carnival Relay victory with a loss against Nantucket before bouncing back for an 89-71 victory over St. John Paul II. The boys hold a 2-0 record following wins over Nantucket (91-56) and JP II (77-37).

Mako, a Yarmouth resident, attributes the early success to the team’s chemistry.

“Our girls team this year is really, really strong,” she said. “We all have such a great bond and I think we’re going to make states or have our relay cuts. We have a lot of confidence, we have a great relationship with each other, and we’re all really supportive of each other.”

The teams return to the pool Jan. 4 for another meet against Nantucket at Willy’s Gym before they compete in the Cape Cod Classic at Sandwich on Jan. 6.