On Saturday, February 6, 2016, the Girls’ Swim Team made Wilmington Friends history. For the first time ever, girls’ swimming won DISC, earning them a banner on the gym wall. The team had been looking forward to the meet all season, after coming in second place to Tatnall at last year’s DISC Tournament. The record for girls’ swimming was 7-1 before DISC (9-1 at the end of the season), with their only loss being to a non-conference opponent. The team is coached by Robin Lebauer, who has been coaching for 10 years, Chris Verry, and Tracy Bukowski. The girls’ team captains are Margeaux Pantano ‘16, Demetria Ruhl ‘16, and Blair Atkins ‘17.

On the bus ride over to St. Andrews, where DISC was held, Margeaux Pantano gave a moving speech to the team that she wrote for the occasion. She encouraged everyone to, “Push your hardest, swim your fastest and leave everything in the pool. I expect to see everyone after their race huffing and puffing, with a bright red face.” She ended with, “Remember we want it. We need it. We will achieve it.” The team had been looking forward to this meet all season. It was going to be a close meet, but the team knew they had a chance of winning if they worked for it.

There are 11 girls’ events and 11 boys events during DISC, making it a long meet. The bus departed at 12 pm and didn’t return until close to 7 pm. The meet began with an exciting 200m IM relay. The first event doesn’t determine the winner, but it does allow the different teams to size each other up. WFS was determined to make a strong start with a fast lineup and take the event. The relays are worth double points compared to the individual events, so all teams were putting forth their best swimmers. WFS swept the relays, winning every girls relay in the the meet. More than half of the team crowded around the lanes with the competing swimmers, cheering as loudly as possible. In the stands parents waved big signs showing support for the girls. The win put our swim team in the lead early on. The challenge became maintaining that lead throughout the individual events.

Each swimmer gave everything they had into their swim. Only the first 6 times in an event scored points, but that didn’t stop some swimmers ranked 7th or 8th from beating the time of another swimmer ranked higher than them. The team’s scoring was strong throughout the individual events, furthering the lead. Robin Lebauer, Head Coach and middle school math teacher commented, “97% of swimmers had their best time in the most important meet of the year.” Everyone maintained the energy throughout the meet, keeping everyone excited and working hard for the trophy. Last second touch-outs and close heats kept the audience members on the edge of their seat. More than once, the race was so close that the swimmers and spectators both looked to the scoreboard to see who got the win.

Excitement was palpable as the final event ended and the scores were about to be announced. Everyone on the team was wondering if this would really be the year the girls’ swim team made history. Demetria Ruhl ‘16, remarked, “One of the most exciting things about the meet for me was seeing everyone doing everything that they could to help our team – between people swimming best times, getting on the podium, and cheering at the other end, the energy and excitement was contagious!” The final score was as follows, from 5th to 1st place: Tower Hill School 25 points, Sanford School 32.5 points, Tatnall School 57.5 points, Wilmington Friends School 110 points. It was a great meet; all teams came with smiles and excitement, ready for friendly competition. There was excellent sportsmanship amongst all swimmers, everyone shook hands after swimming and wished each other good luck.

The girls team was very proud, and wanted to thank the coaches, parents who volunteered to time, and the officials. Five swimmers made All Conference first team this year: Margeaux Pantano ‘16, Demetria Ruhl ‘16, Atim Kilama ‘18, Ashley Chompre ‘19, and Kate Saber ‘19. Blair Atkins ‘17 made All Conference second team. The season is over for most swimmers, but those who qualified for the state championship meet are still practicing. All the swimmers are looking forward to next year and adding a new banner to the gym.