The girls swimming and diving team competed in its final competition of the year at the IHSA sectional championship on Nov. 9, setting two school records and placing fourth out of 13 competing schools. Two divers and 10 swimmers from U-High participated, scoring 200 points.
The competition was hosted by St. Ignatius College Prep at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Senior Uma Malani set a school record in diving, scoring 371.60 points. Junior Lydia Gilbert set the 200 freestyle record with a time of 1:57.41.
Junior co-captain Maya Livni expressed pride in the team’s success this season.
“This season was just incredible,” Maya said. “All of our dual meets went really well, and I feel like the freshmen really brought life into the team.”
Although the season was successful, it wasn’t without some challenges. During a competition on Oct. 26 against Latin School of Chicago and Lake Forest High School, members competing in the 200-free relay were disqualified due to a player leaving early without authorization. Despite this, U-High still won the meet.
“A lot has happened this season, good and bad,” sophomore Hailey Purcell said. “The team sometimes had a lot of lows and still were able to persevere. They were able to get their time and swim really fast.”
