The St. Rose boys and girls swim teams are having successful seasons filled with, exciting races, difficult practices, close matches, intense competition and, of course, a number of successful events and meets. It has, no doubt, been a year where St. Rose’s largest athletic team has improved greatly.
This season, the girls swim team has a record of 5 wins and 4 losses and has dominated in relays as well as individual events. As sophomore Abi George states, “I think swim is a really good balance between working hard and having fun. Coach Miller does a great job of working the team harder than ever before – but also never getting too serious. She always leaves room for fun!” The girls also have outstanding talent. This talent will be displayed against their next two meets, one against Raritan and the next against Trinity Hall. Both schools are big competitors. The team is truly diverse. There are many girls that swim different strokes, leaving the coaches to decide who swims which races.
The team is all about sportsmanship, dedication to the sport, and of course, having fun! The talented sprint freestyler, sophomore, Brenna Harold, strongly believes,”that the girls team has become really close and we have learned to work together to win some of the hardest meets. Everyone is so supportive and always willing to help the team out!” Brenna is often one of the team’s most spirited swimmers. She also stated, “I am hoping that the girls team will make it past the second round of the state tournament this year because we can do it! I am excited and hope everyone swims their individual best times.  All the hard work and effort will be well worth it!”
The boys swim team has also been extremely successful as well. So far, with a 3-5-1 team record, the team has been very competitive. Many of those meets were so close in scoring that the outcome could have gone either way. With outstanding, unrecognized talent, the boys are training hard and working towards a successful finish to their season. They have high hopes for the state tournament and shore conference meets. As Coach Miller states, “I look forward to the results of the Shore Conference tournament and view that as an important milestone in our season.” Also, Coach Miller is expecting a successful Monmouth County Tournament showing from both the boys and girls teams. She is quick to highlight that she believes “ this season’s first ever relay win against CBA is better than any record. That was a true and lasting highlight if ever there was one, Senior Liam Cosgrove has dominated New Jersey’s swimming world since he was a freshman. Specializing in the 100 butterfly event, he is planning to finish his high school swimming career with the Roses and to lead the team to more victories. “I hope that we keep training hard and get as many people as possible to the Meet of Champions,” Liam humbly states. Liam will be continuing his swimming career at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. He believes that the Roses swimming program has prepared him for Seton Hall because, “St. Rose’s atmosphere has helped me greatly because we’re all so close and no matter how talented or successful we are, we always remember to have fun at the end of the day. This team’s atmosphere and dedication has prepared me to swim at the collegiate level at Seton Hall because they are a very close knit team as well.”

The swim team bond is unlike any other. Even though swimming is consisted of individual events, each event is counts and is vital for your team. The St. Rose boys and girls swim team is currently in the middle of a successful and memorable season. It is up to the coaches and swimmers to see where their next victories take them.

By: MK O’Malley ’17, Staff Writer