The girls swimming and diving team won its third consecutive Founders League championship on Saturday, February 24, notching its 32nd league title in program history.

On the boys side, the Loomis Chaffee team earned runner-up honors with an impressive set of performances.

The girls’ quest for the three-peat began on Wednesday when senior Bella Flowers placed first in the diving event. “This season what has really allowed me to thrive is learning to trust myself in my dives, and not putting too much pressure on myself,” Bella reflected. “I really took this season to step back and enjoy myself and the team, rather than being too stressed about each and every meet.” 

With Bella’s win and her teammates’ points in the event (freshman Sarah Lamphere placed seventh, senior Jackie Ryckman placed 13th, and senior Vanessa Kim placed 14th), the Pelicans entered Saturday with a big head start and never looked back. By the end of the meet, the team had put up 527.5 points, 161.5 more points than the second-place finisher, Miss Porter’s School. 

Highlights from the meet included a new Loomis Chaffee record in the 200 medley relay, a 1-2-3 sweep of the 100 butterfly, and a new Founders League record in the 400 freestyle relay. Those three events featured combinations of senior Kayla Zeng, senior Charlotte Sorensen, sophomore Marin Benoit, and junior Jessica Zhao. The Pelicans won six of the 12 events in the meet and had athletes on the podium in 11 of the 12 events.

The boys team also put together an astounding performance, with many swimmers clocking lifetime bests. 

Two Loomis boys were crowned Founders League champions — sophomore Chris Zeng in the 500 freestyle, and senior co-captain Jake Yu in the 100 breaststroke. Senior co-captain Preston McNulty Socha also swam a great race in the 200 freestyle to place third with his lifetime best time by five seconds.

Next up for both teams is the New England Prep School Swimming Association Championship with diving on Wednesday, February 28, at Suffield, and the swimming events on Saturday and Sunday, March 2–3, at Andover.