Blood is thicker than water, or so the saying goes. However, if you’re a high school girl on the Bellevue Club Senior Swim Team, the bonds formed in the competition pool are as thick as they come.

“We can talk about anything,” says Lily Morris, a top swimmer on the team. “We can just joke around and I really like all of them. I’m closer with them than a lot of people at my school.”

PNS Championship Results Finishing second out of a strong field of more than 50 teams, the Bellevue Club posted a number of fast times, breaking Club and Pacific Northwest records at the Pacific Northwest Swimming Long Course Championships this past July. Among the senior girls, 16-year-old Meghan O’Keefe finished top 10 in six events, earning third in the 200 fly. She also set a Club record in the 100 fly. Her results are more impressive due to the fact that the senior heats also included competitive college swimmers, since there is no age cap in the 15 and over division. Danielle Deiparine, 15, finished fifth in the 200 breaststroke. Erin MacLean, 18, finished fifth in the 200 fly. Lily Morris finished fifth in the 100 free. Strong on their own, the team really shined in the relays with Danielle, Erin, Lily and masters swimmer Sheri Hart finishing first in the 200 medley relay. They set a Club record in the process. In the 200 meter free relay, the team of Maureen Cardwell, Christie Melby, Lily and Sheri finished second and posted another Club record.

And why shouldn’t she be? After all, the small crew of girls on the senior team spend approximately 20 hours per week training together, swimming endless laps under the tough coaching of Andy Pym and Marisa Chang.

“It can be hard and stressful,” says Lily. “You really get to know each other through the workouts.”

At competitive meets, support from teammates plays a crucial part in the girls’ success.

“We really try to cheer for everyone and make sure each person has at least one person watching her race,” says Lily. “It’s really nice, especially when you’re on an end line—it really makes you want to go faster.”

Lily says it helps her nerves to have someone to chat with before the race.

“I like to be distracted, otherwise I psych myself out. Having someone there calms me down, and my muscles can stay loose,” she says.

Coach Marisa Chang played an important role in building a supportive atmosphere.

“I’ve gotten the girls together a couple times and had a few meetings. I create an open forum where they can share their goals. Whatever is said in the room stays there and it creates a circle of trust amongst the team,” she says. “It puts us in the same boat in where we want to go.”

Graduating in 2009, Marisa was a standout Pac-10 swimmer at University of Washington. She brings strong competitive swimming experience at the typically male-dominated senior coaching level.

“A lot of clubs have a lot of girl senior swimmers and less boys, but the Bellevue Club is the opposite,” she says. “As far as girls on the team, we’re eight strong and all of them have been training hard.”

And it’s paid off so far.

“We’ve had best times across the board,” she says.

It’s not all competition with the senior girls, though.

“We hang out and go to movies. We like to eat a lot,” says Lily. “We get burritos every Saturday.”


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