Tigers Take Home HVAC Crown

Coach G
Before we get into any details, Coach and I just wanted to extend our heartfelt "you guys are awesome" vibes your way. We have been so proud of the accomplishments of each and every one of you this season. Yesterday's results are the direct results of getting in the pool even when you're not feeling your best, coming to holiday practices, sprinting that last set even when you know you can take it easy. We've had so much fun watching you all grow as a team and watching this competitive fire build within each and every one of you! 
 
To see everyone stick together yesterday until the final event put a Cheshire grin on our faces. With what seemed like the entire team behind the block as the last leg of the boys 400 free relay dove in (a full 2.39 seconds AFTER Brentwood Academy), teammates screaming at the top of there lungs to encourage our anchor to close down a very game BA relay and out touch them by .2, yes that's two tenths of a second. The explosion of genuine happiness for our team was truly special. 
 
I don't know if you were aware but USN was the underdog going into yesterday's meet. The original projections had us trailing BA by 6 points and scoring 576. Yesterday's team victory was a direct result of you all as a group out swimming your seed times. We ended up with a top score of 603 points and a margin of victory of 15 points. As we have told you time and time again, you are only competing against yourselves and let the rest come together around you. Way to keep your head down and EARN your honors.
 
A team is built around trust, trusting one another, trusting your coaches, and us trusting you. This was showcased, perhaps better than any other year, yesterday at Ensworth. Most of you were asked to swim outside of your comfort zone and instead of moaning about it and looking for an out, you met the challenge head-on. We would not have accomplished the things that we  did yesterday with out the efforts of so many of you in races you certainly and eloquently characterize as, "not my favorite." Thank you to everyone for staying cool, calm, and collected as we had to shuffle relays with scratches. I think the most I saw any of our swimmers were when people were counting for their teammates during the 500 because they didn't want to mess up! 
 
Congratulations are in order for some folks who moved onto or up our all-time MS records board... First for the girls: medley relay #1, Olivia S 200 free #2, Olivia B 200 IM #4, Olivia S 100 free #3, Eleanor S 500 free #4, 200 free relay #3, Tate B 100 back #2, Anna H 100 breast #3, 400 free relay #3. 

Now for the boys: Jacob R 200 free #1, Reed K 50 free #2, Reed K 100 free #2, Dhruv R 500 free #1, Owen B 500 free #3, 200 free relay #2, Jacob R 100 back #3, Leo F 100 back #4, 400 free relay #2. And just to clarify, these are ALL from YESTERDAY! 
 
Championships are not just built around winning events, in fact we didn't win a single event yesterday in route to earning the top spot. Our depth in each event is what shined brightest yesterday. You see, individual events score the top 16 places and our strategy was to scoop up as many of those points as we could. That all started with the 200 freestyle when Jessica and Maya took 8th and 9th and Isaac taking 12th. Eleanor and Ellie R taking 8th and 14th in the 200 IM, Taylor I and Margot R finishing 9th and 14th in the 50 free, all of the 500 swimmers who gutted out 20 laps to earn 5th, 6th and 11th for the girls and 6th, 8th 9th, and 10th for the boys, Elli and Mark in the 100 back finishing 11th and 12th.
 
On a personal note, I'd like to thank the high school coaches for coming yesterday. They are preparing for the HS State meet this coming weekend and they took time out of their preparation and time with their families to come watch you, not because they had to but because they wanted to. Thank you to Coach Ellen for handling all of the questions and chaos while I was making the changes to our lineups. Most of all thank you to the parents and swimmers for your contributions this season. The energy and effort you put in this winter is why we are where we are. Our 23 swimmers proved mightier than the 33 from BA, 28 from CPA, and 23 from Ensworth and I couldn't be more proud. 
 
In the weeks ahead you are still "in season" with swimming until MS sports rotate on 2/19. So here is the plan, we will have free swim during our scheduled times this week and next week we will (weather depending) go outside on the back field for a change of pace. 7th and 8th will be dismissed at 3:10 and 6th grade stays at its normal time for 2 more weeks. Lastly, the winter sports recognition night is on February 19th. I will send out a reminder email closer to the date. All swimmers are expected to attend and we will be dressed up as we hand out our end of season awards and recognize what can best be described as a CVS receipt of accomplishments. It's been a blast to be associated with you all and an honor to have you call us Coach!
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.