About a year after winning the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships in the 3A division, the boys varsity swim team is preparing for the upcoming winter season.
The boys varsity swim team is officially moving up to the SPC 4A division after the championship-winning season last year.
“There will be plenty of competition moving to 4A, and doing well will be hard,” Varsity Swimming Head Coach Patti Monzingo said. “We still have a very strong boys team, and I think they will do well.”
The team will now compete against some of the top ranked teams in the state within SPC. Several members of the team say they are eager to face this higher level of competition.
“I am super excited for the season to come,” sophomore Mahedhar Sunkara said. “I know the whole team is ready to duke it out between the lanes with some tougher competition.”
Under the leadership of Monzingo, the boys varsity swim team had a historic season last year, winning the first SPC Championship in school history.
“Last year was a perfect storm,” Monzingo said. “Greenhill has always had great swimmers who have gone on to swim in college, but what was missing was the number of great swimmers needed to make a championship season. We had the numbers last year, and with a lot of strategizing, we accomplished our season goal of winning SPC.”
While Monzingo celebrates these accomplishments, she says that she is approaching this year through a different lens.
“We did have a great season, but that was last year,” Monzingo said. “Each season should be looked at differently because very little is the same from year to year.”
Monzingo emphasizes the team must remain grounded and focused without putting too much pressure on themselves.
“Those who put in the work will be champions,” Monzingo said. “Those who expect to do well because we did well last year will not.”
Additionally, Monzingo says the team should focus on setting goals rather than expectations.
“Goals have clear steps with accountability,” Monzingo said. “Expectations put too much pressure on the other person, oftentimes unfair pressure.”
The season officially this month, and the team has already begun ramping up their preparations by attending mandatory High Performance Center workouts throughout the preseason and are now within in-season practices.
The swimmers say they are enthusiastic about the chance to establish their reputation in the 4A division.
“I have faith that the team’s success from 3A will carry into 4A, and we will be boosted by the better competition, ultimately making our program better,” Sunkara said.
The composition of the boys varsity swim team will be vastly different this year with the loss of three graduated seniors. However, Monzingo says she is confident in the team’s ability to reach their highest potential.
“Teams are like a living organism and always changing,” Monzingo said. “One thing remains the same: building a family of swimmers first who work together well, relying on each other and holding each other accountable in both practices and meets.”
