Senior Night a Bust?

“Disappointing,” “adequate,” “fine,” and “bittersweet” were all adjectives used by this year’s FCHS senior swimmers to describe their Senior Night on Jan. 15 at the Charlottesville YMCA. The FCHS opponents were Albemarle and Jefferson Forest, both of which are a class division ahead of FCHS. Facing these teams was already a potentially spirit-breaking task, and the Flucos had to share the spotlight with the Albemarle seniors for their own ceremony. The lack of spectators, meet location, tough opponents, and overall team spirit all contributed to what some felt to be a lackluster ceremony.

Senior swimmer Riley Yowell was most disappointed with sharing a senior night meet with Albemarle. “We looked almost overshadowed,” said Yowell, who has been on the team for four years. Senior Jacob Ondeck had a conflicting opinion on the matter, saying “(sharing the ceremony with Albemarle) was pretty fun. I liked that, but it brought ours down a little bit because their ceremony was more hype [and] team-oriented.”

Some felt the lack of spectators at the meet was also a buzzkill as almost the entirety of the audience consisted of parents and family members. This may have been due to an abundance of factors. The meet was originally scheduled to take place at FUMA that Saturday, but was canceled somewhat at the last minute, leaving Coach Mitchell Pace scrambling for a reschedule date. “It was very difficult for me to plan everything at the very last minute and from home as I was not able to attend school and practice that week,” Pace said.

Still, the ceremony seemed to have a positive impact on the Flucos’ overall performance in the meet. Among the Fluco highlights, freshman Alex Fuller placed 1st in the 100 freestyle, the girls A relay (Abby Ford, Allyson Lounsbury, Alex Fuller, and Vaile Altherr) placed 2nd in the 200 medley, and Ahmad Woodson placed 2nd in the 200 freestyle.
In spite of all of the negatives, some seniors said they were still grateful for having the ceremony at all, and expressed their appreciation for the coaches and school staff who made it happen. Senior Anthony Curuso valued the spectator audience, calling them “supportive.” Jones felt fortunate to have had the meet at all, considering a few prior meets had been canceled to snow.