The RM 2024 girls swim team will never be forgotten. With many records broken and trophies won, this year’s team was beyond successful. Now Maryland 3A/4A state champions, the team has had success throughout the entire season, starting with victories at both the divisional and Metro meets. The win at the Metro competition was especially impressive, with RM’s girl’s team being the first public school to win since Sherwood in the late 2010s. This meet is against all public and private schools in the area and is seen as one of the most competitive meets in the area. Many Olympic swimmers have competed in this meet, and the RM girls team now stands among the champions. Finally, the team won overall first place at the state meet, the highest title a team can get.
At the Metro meet held from Feb. 7-10, Rocket swimmers shattered records. Senior and captain Livia Venditti, along with juniors Lauren Gotting, Julie Schwieters and Sarah Eliason, rebroke their girl’s 200 Free record, earning an All-American time, and is the second-best time ever in MCPS. The 400 free record was also broken, earned an All-American qualifying time, and is the 2nd fastest time ever in MCPS history. These two races, combined with other successes, led the girl’s team to a significant win, one that many did not expect.
The energy just kept building and building.
— Natalia Evans-Gibson
While the win at Metros was more than exciting, the season was not over yet. The team had their eye on the state title all year, putting in countless hours of hard work and effort to make it happen. “Many of the people on the team are on a club team, and spent additional days practicing outside of school practices to get better,” Gotting said. “We made sure to stay focused and work hard at practice, applying suggestions by our coaches to improve our races.”
The team also spent time making sure to have the best possible race lineups to maximize points and success for future meets. With relays being one of their biggest strengths, the team put extra focus into practicing starts and relay exchanges to ensure they would be ready to go when the time came. While the 2024 team was full of talent, their close bond and determination are what set them apart this year and were crucial to their accomplishments throughout the season. “A lot of people dropped time at the championship meet sheerly because we wanted to win so badly,” Schwieters said. The team also was sure to always be the most spirited team, constantly cheering their teammates on during races and supporting one another. “The energy just kept building and building,” senior Natalia Evans-Gibson said.
The build-up to the state meet held at the University of Maryland was full of both nerves and excitement. “Leading up to the meet, I was optimistic and hopeful about the outcome,” Gotting said. After winning Metros, the Rockets had lots of momentum and buzz leading into states. Head coach and chemistry teacher Ashkay Gandhi even bleached his hair blonde to celebrate the team’s triumphant victory. Despite their recent win, the team knew the competition at states would be tough, and went in knowing they would have to swim their best to win.
When the time came, the RM girl’s team was ready. Winning the 200 free relay, along with the 400 free relay and BYU commit Sarah Eliason winning the 100 butterfly, RM had an extremely strong performance. Despite being in a tight race for first with Walter Johnson throughout the meet, the RM was able to pull ahead and secure the win.
The team scored an impressive 299.5 points, beating WJ by almost 20 points. “We all stepped up for our races, cheering each other on and swimming our fastest to reach our goal,” Brown commit Livia Venditti said. The team’s months of hard work and huge commitment had paid off. With a strong senior class supported by many talented underclassmen, the 2024 RM Girls Swim team accomplished something only few can.
If you would like to voice your opinion on an issue you feel is relevant to our community, please do so here. Anyone is able and welcome to submit a Letter to the Editor, regardless of journalistic experience or writing skills. Submissions may be published either online or in a print issue.
