Another dominant season has wrapped up for the girls swim and dive team. Behind stunning individual performances across the board that resulted in five first-place finishes, compounded with victories in all three relays, the girls more than doubled the score of the second-place team, amassing over 400 points. For reference, the next closest team scored 173. This marks the 27th title the girls have won under coach Butch Briggs, who has led the team for the last half-century.

“Winning was a nice nod to all of our hard work this season,” Captain Kate Simon ‘25 said.

Simon, committed to swim at Notre Dame, was an integral part of the team’s success this season. She was able to win individually by multiple seconds in both the 100 freestyle and the 200 freestyle at the state meet, as well as contributing to two relay wins. Her aforementioned win in the 100 freestyle was also a Division III state record.

Other notable performances at the state meet were seen from swimmers like Ellery Chandler ‘26, Addie Hein ‘27, Ivy Chu ‘27, and Meredith Sperling ‘27 who all placed top four in multiple events. Chandler, committed to swim at Arkansas, won both the 100 breaststroke and the 100 butterfly. Diver Kate Artz ‘26 also placed 5th overall, contributing to the point total.

The girls’ dominance this year was not limited to their final meet. They went undefeated in dual meets, beating rivals like Jenison on the way to an 8-0 record. They tied the conference overall with Jenison after narrowly losing the conference championship meet.

A large part of the girls’ dominance can be attributed to their coach, Butch Briggs, who undoubtedly knows what it takes to be a championship team and how to coach a team to success. The state meet can be stressful for swimmers, as there is a lot of pressure to perform at your best in the biggest race of the year. However, with Briggs at the helm with his 50 plus years of experience the girls know that they are prepared for the moment.

“He’s been through this so many times and some of us have only been through it once or none at all, so I think that we rely on him for support and to calm our nerves,” Chu said. 

With another state championship banner hung in the rafters of the “Butch Briggs” Natatorium, the girls will look to take home their 28th state championship next year. With a plethora of underclassman talent in swimmers like the future of the girls swim team program will be bright for the years to come.