It is an exciting time for Villanova Club Swim: the team is headed to Atlanta, Georgia for the Club Swimming National Championships from Apr. 8 to 10.

The season has had many ups and downs. Coming off of a nonexistent season last year, due to COVID-19, it was an uphill battle to get ready for this years’ championships.

Senior Jamie Bruno talked about the club’s turnaround post-COVID.

“I was surprised with how many new members we got and was thrilled that so many sophomores and freshmen joined the team and were active members right away,” Bruno said. “One concern we had was that the sophomore class wouldn’t have been as active since club sports were on hold during when we would have tryouts during the 2020-2021 academic year. This year has been fantastic for club swimming and all club sports from what I heard. I truly believe these student organizations came out of the pandemic than the pre-pandemic period.”

  The season had many highlights. The first was the 2021 Pitt Fall Invitational at the University of Pittsburgh last October. The team traveled five hours to face 12 teams, including George Washington University, University of Michigan and Temple University. 

Junior Noah Shauf shared his thoughts on the trip.

“It was a lot of fun,” Shauf said. “We got the chance to swim outside of our immediate area, to compete against fast teams in a fast pool and do really well. We proved that while our team is meant to be fun and social, we still can step up and compete with some of the best clubs on the east coast, and we did so while also having a lot of fun because in the end, the meet was a blast to go to.”

Another highlight was the University of Virginia Wet Wahoo Invitational on February 19. The team traveled yet another five hours to face the Cavaliers, as well as other teams, including West Virginia, James Madison University and Liberty University. The meet lasted roughly five hours, due to all teams being co-ed, with the exception of Liberty, which is an all-men’s club team. Despite the meet length, the team ended up having a successful weekend. 

So far, the team has had an spectacular season and has surpassed expectations in terms of COVID-turnaround. Right now, the team is training hard for Nationals and will be competing against clubs all around the country.

If interested in joining club swimming, email [email protected].