Diving into Fall 2024 with Epic Fun Fridays

The 2024 Fall Semester has been busy for UMCS even beyond the pool deck!

Following a week of tryouts, the team hosted our first Fun Friday with the new members on September 13. Meeting outside Curry Hicks, we carpooled to Puffers Pond to continue the fan-favorite tradition of playing get-to-know-you games, swimming, and welcoming the new school year. Everyone was informed about recent water testing results and made a personally educated decision to or not to swim. No one was encouraged or pressured to swim or jump into the water. Leaving puffers as the sun began to fall, our swimmers split ways for dinner before meeting up later that evening for our important start-of-semester budget meeting.

Our second and third (but equally cherished) Fun Fridays of the semester were hiking Mt. Sugarloaf and getting ice cream from Flayvors of Cook Farm. Per tradition, the team was met with tasty apple cider donuts at the top of the Sugarloaf hike and spent time petting, and ultimately smelling, the cows while enjoying their ice cream at Flayvors.

Our swimmers battled it out on October 4 at our team's first Fun Friday Olympics. Participating in six events from an egg-spoon relay race to a taste test to a makeover challenge, all five teams were committed to taking home the gold. Ultimately it came down to a one-point difference and "Bad Terms" finishing in the lead. Winners Raegan Redmond, Saaketh Sodanapalli, Marin Mercer, Abby O'Brien, Sophia Tomasio, Michael Nasta, and Ellie Kudej were sent home with high spirits, a tasty prize, and bragging rights.

Our next Fun Friday was our second team scavenger hunt on October 18. Running around campus and town, eight teams of swimmers completed various spooky tasks for points as fast as they could. Despite the incredible efforts of all players, taking naps on the Worcester floor, filming thrilling music videos, and crawling on the Amherst sidewalks, Jane Edison, Michael Nasta, Gabby Lopes, and Saaketh Sodanapalli came in first with a whopping 57 points -- 23 whole points ahead of their nearest competitors. They ultimately secured their win by gaining valuable bonus points for 'kidnapping' Raegan Redmond and adding her to their team.

Our most recent Fun Friday took place on October 25. Keeping up the spooky spirit and enjoying the last bits of warm October weather, our swimmers gathered at Celia's house to paint pumpkins and roast s'mores.

Between all the fun off the pool deck, our swimmers have been working hard each night crushing challenging sets from our coaches and coaching shadows. Tackling mid-distance free, fins, stations, worst-stroke, and so many more practice themes our team is preparing for a busy meet schedule in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more about our exciting endeavors!!