On Monday, Oct. 9, both the girls’ and boys’ Cavalier swim teams gathered early in the Gables pavilion to attend the Greater Miami Athletic Conference, commonly known as GMAC. Serving as a large swimming event that is hosted at the Miami-Dade North Campus, it brings high schools together from all over the district, such as Miami Beach, Mast, South Dade, Cutler Bay, Terra and many others to compete against each other. This meet provides swimmers with a one-on-one opportunity to see who their competition might be in their events for the upcoming District meet, which will serve as a qualifier for Regionals.

“I knew this year was going to be a bit tough to place in the top ten since we lost a couple strong swimmers this year and many rookies were joining us this year. I had no doubt in my mind though, that they would try their hardest and give it a hundred percent, and that’s exactly what they did. I could not be more proud of my girls, and I know that there will come a day where the Coral Gables Girls’ Swim team will be a force to reckon with and I, for one, am greatly looking forward to that day. It has been a great season and I will miss them and all of this very much,” said senior captain Audrey Aragon.

This year, many rookies earned the opportunity to swim in some events. Sophomore Andre Cospin, was one of those swimmers. Cospin, who swam the 50 freestyle, one of the more fast-paced events in the entire tournament, felt very positively about GMAC. “Overall, GMAC was a great experience. It’s an enormous tournament with people running around, water everywhere and anxiety in the air. Everyone wants to have the best times. Everyone wants to win. So did I. I may not have won my event, but I sure did gain much experience, experience that I’ll be able to apply not just to next year’s GMACs but future swim meets too,” Cospin noted.

This year, the Coral Gables Girls’ Swimming team placed in the top ten. The Boys’ Swimming team managed to rank in the top twenty. Although not as good as previous years, they are definitely showing signs of improvement and are on the rise. The team rallied through a season filled with cancelled and postponed meets, an unwanted two weeks without practice due to Hurricane Irma, the introduction of new swimmers and a new coach. Through it all, they have always kept their chins high and are optimistic for what lies ahead, as the 2017 season is coming to a close and they prepare to embark on their next significant meet, which will be Districts, Oct. 23 at Miami-Dade North Campus.