The EB girls swim team walks to the pool with pride. Before stretching, they put on their green EB caps and goggles. Distance swimmers jump up and down, slapping their biceps to get the adrenaline pumping. The sprinters jog in place to get their heart rate up and their nerves out. Mary Elgayar, 12, says a “short prayer to get in the zone” before she dives in.

“There’s nothing you can do to go back in time to change the results,” Coach Russo tells the girls after a tough first meet. “Focus on what you can take away and learn from it”. He’s referring to the loss against Old Bridge high school, a formidable opponent, who left East Brunswick feeling discouraged. Despite this low point, the girls quickly absorbed this advice and channeled their anger into practice. Their motivation, hard-work, and skill lead them to win four meets in a row.

From friendly team-roasts to blasting Pitbull on bus rides home, nothing beats the EBHS girls swim team’s chemistry. Even when newcomer and sophomore Katie Ryan joined the roster, the team was quick to include her into the family. Such a warm welcome helped Ryan break two team records, qualify for New Jersey ‘Meet of Champions’, where she made “A” finals and placed 8th in the state in the 50 freestyle, and finish as an all red division and all county swimmer.

While the season did not start the way the girls had planned, this team persevered with the help of the encouragement from their teammates and coaches to end on an exceptionally high note.

Gallery • 5 Photos

LEFT Seniors Mary Egalayer, Gabby Salvador, junior Megan Tsang and sophomore Abigail Simonovsky make the most of the last day of practice of the swimming season. Goofing around is an essential part of practice to keep the team chemistry strong.