On March 11, University High School Swim and Dive competed at home against Portola in their first meet of the season. After a successful previous season with the team qualifying for CIF, the Trojans started the season by delivering dominant performances across all three levels. UHS secured victories in the varsity, JV and open divisions with each team winning by over 100 points.

As the meet began with the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay shortly afterward, the Trojans demonstrated control from the start. Despite entering the meet with multiple swimmers unable to compete, the Trojans overperformed expectations early.

“Some of our team was sick, so our morale was low coming into this meet,” senior captain Masih Chavoushi said. “But after a pep talk from our coach and winning our relays in the first event, our morale and motivation were through the roof.”

Many Trojans delivered standout performances during the meet, helping UHS secure the win against the Bulldogs. On the boys’ side, sophomore Tiger Chai recorded a season-best time of 21.97 seconds in the 50-meter. On the girls’ side, freshmen Natalie Chien and Annabel Lin stood out by setting new seasonal records in the 100-meter freestyle and 100-meter breaststroke, respectively. 

“The most exciting race for me was the varsity 100 breaststroke,” senior captain Sarah Xiong said. “It was a close race with a Uni swimmer winning the event.”   

The team’s energy and support played a major role in the Trojans’ win while setting the tone for the rest of their season. 

“I think everyone was definitely more hype because it was our first league meet,” senior captain Deea Gandotra said. “All our girls did a really good job cheering for teammates when they were not swimming.”

With their first win of the season, the Trojans look to stay undefeated as they prepare for their next meet against Laguna Beach on April 8.