By Cora Vulin '20
As I look back on my four years with the Viz swim team, I can proudly say this season has easily been my personal favorite. Each year I look forward to November with hopeful anticipation, knowing that the new season is right around the corner. The first day of practice kicks off the routine for the next four months—pulling up to the Brentwood Y, changing in the women’s locker room, saying “what’s up” to the lifeguards, and gearing up for Coach Sean Dooley’s very enlightening start-of-season speech. Every year during our first team meeting, I observe old-timers and new-comers alike coming together to form our team, wondering how the dynamic is going to play out. There is a special bond formed when a group of individuals share in a journey together with its highs and lows, joys and sorrows, wins and losses—and the Viz swim team is no exception. As a team, we go through it all together, supporting one another through our triumphs and defeats both in and out of the water. I have never gotten so close with a group of people so fast in my life, and I know these relationships will be what I miss most after graduation. Our team’s accomplishments in the pool are equally impressive and inspiring, but it’s the iconic traditions, endless stories, and meaningful memories that give true value to each season. Blasting music on the bus ride to COMO, cooking pasta the night before conference, screaming our cheer (that no one really knows) before every meet, beating St. Joe for the first time in 22 years, driving Paige Trautman and Jessica Bader to-and-from practice every day, watching the comedic exchanges between Jenna Laughlin and Sean, creating dances with Audrey Dino before races, designing the team jacket with Olivia Morales and Kate Atkinson, struggling through seemingly impossible sets, watching Emily O’Connell crush everyone in the 100 fly, cheering on our insanely talented divers, collecting quotes from Sean to put in Taylor Slade’s “quote book,” racing at meets 2-3 times per week, competing at State, and celebrating at the end-of-season banquet are some of the most memorable traditions that I’ll carry with me long after this season. To put it simply, Viz swimming is indescribably special. The girls, along with Coach Sean, are some of the most driven, supportive people I have had the privilege of getting to know on an exceptionally deep level. I will miss the team’s endless inside jokes and Sean’s pep talks of “push your bodies” and “get after it,” as I impatiently look forward to next year when I can come back to visit. Here’s to a team that taught me hard work and perseverance and brought me all the joy and laughter in the world. With love, your captain.
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