Throughout their season, which lasts from September to mid-February, the team partakes in a rigorous practice schedule. Each week, they start practices at 5:45 a.m. on Monday mornings, followed by a second practice along with a lift in the middle. Despite this time commitment, the seniors couldn’t imagine a world where they weren’t swimming.

Weber has been swimming competitively since she was nine years old, and Ferrari since she was eight.

“For me, I could not have pictured my life without swimming, and it’s really difficult for me to picture my life in the future without swimming,” Weber said. “I think a lot of that has to do with how swimmers really work hard and I like the feeling of being with my team and getting through a really tough set together, or joking around on the bus on the way to a meet, or eating dinner together after practice. Those are things that I really value and I know I’m gonna miss once I graduate. But I think I’m lucky that every single team I’ve been on has been a really great group of people that are all super dedicated, super hardworking, and also willing to have fun.”

Ferrari appreciates the swim team for the values that they share.

“Swimmers as a group of people are really interesting and dedicated,” Ferrari said. “ There’s a certain value to them that other people — I don’t know, I don’t want to say ‘don’t always have,’ but there’s just something about swimmers and the culture that a swim team builds in my life that I really always wanted to keep. It’s kind of weird to be graduating and think of myself as a swimmer and over my competitive career per se. But honestly, that team environment and team culture and just the mentality of a swimmer — that I don’t even know how to describe.”

In contrast to some other sports, being named captain is not an election process, but instead decided by the coaches who use their judgment and receive recommendations from previous captains. Both seniors were named captains at the end of their second year and have continued to remain in the position since.

“I know in other sports, the best players are often chosen to be the captains, and that’s definitely not how it works on the swim team,” Weber said. “We’re not the fastest people on the team, so I think a lot of our role is being a role model to other people, so that’s a big responsibility. Also, serving as an intermediary between the coaches and the team, although we’ve been trying to kind of change the leadership structure a little bit so that more people can feel included and feel like they have a voice directly to the coaches.”

Swimming is both a team sport and an individual sport. Swimmers race against competitors to improve their own times while competing to improve the team’s standing, and working to improve their technique and endurance. As captain of a team unique in this way, Ferrari emphasizes the spatial awareness needed to navigate being captain of a swim team.

“I feel like you have to be aware of your mindset and where you are because obviously you need to be in the mindset to go out and race and be hyped and excited for your races,” Ferrari said. “But also, at the same time, watching out for the team and noticing, ‘Oh, maybe this person is really anxious about this event, or they’re nervous before this’ and just taking a second and talking with them and helping them get ready for their races is a lot of work. I also did that as a teammate and a member of our team, so I don’t think that was a behavioral shift once I became a captain.”

Weber points out that a common misconception people have about swimming is that it is solely individual, when in reality, swimming as a sport would not be attainable if you were by yourself.

“When it comes to a meet, yes, it’s just you and the pool, and that’s what it really is,” Weber said. “But, whatever you do, whatever place you get, that determines the points for the team. At the end of the day, your contribution can decide whether or not the team wins.”

Out of season, the captains run captains’ practices, which are lower-stakes and meant to keep the team in shape. During this time,
the team lifts, swims, and plays occasional water-polo games.

“We are also in charge of the team’s Swouse,” Ferrari notes.

“Swouse” is the term the team uses to refer to the swim house.

This team is very closely bonded and spends the majority of their time together, both in and out of the pool. Weber notes how at their last conference meet last year, which is hosted at Denison University every year, the team was just as engaged and excited as the beginning.

“I’ve never had more fun than our conference meet last year,” Weber said. “Everyone was swimming so hard and doing their best, but also you could see that our team was having more fun than any other team there. We were just joking around with each other. So it’s definitely the people that make the team.”

Weber and Ferrari’s first season occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they aren’t familiar with how the team operated pre-pandemic. As a result, they have prioritized creating new traditions. They express how much the team has changed since their first year, and they are working hard to ensure the culture stays the same once they leave.

One of their favorite traditions is the team brunch hosted at the start of each year, which the class of 2024 started as an opportunity to get to know the new first-years and reconnect as a team after the summer. This year, all the fourth-years on the women’s team are housemates, so they invited the team to their house to reconnect.

“Also, as a women’s team, in the fall we always go apple picking and go to corn mazes and do fun fall activities,” Ferrari said.

Going into their second year as captains, Ferrari and Weber are experienced in motivating the team to work hard and push each other. Now, their goals have shifted to ensuring they leave a positive legacy for the program.

“Swimming is a hard sport,” Ferrari said. “It’s a lot of time where you can’t talk to people, you’re in the water, your head down, and it can be very hard mentally. So just making practices fun, and making that team environment as fun as it can be, is kind of what I’ve been trying to work on the most.”

Weber explains her shifts in goals during her second year as captain.

“At first it was more about trying to figure out how to be the best leader I could, and I think that’s still true, but also with the mindset of like, ‘I’m going to be leaving this team soon, so how can I help foster the best team environment I possibly can?’” Weber said. “How can I make it inclusive so that people feel like their voices are heard? How can I make sure that people are having fun and actually enjoying practice, enjoying the need to not take anything too seriously for myself, for my team now, but
also to set them up?”

Outside of swim, the captains balance various extracurriculars along with their jobs working for the Admissions Office.

Ferrari works as a senior fellow with Admissions, a peer tutor, and an Environmental Studies major representative. She also does research with Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Andrew Pike, OC ’08, on mosquitoes in Lorain County. She is one of the
officers of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and also volunteers weekly with Oberlin Community Services.

Weber also works for Admissions as a tour guide and is part of OSteel, Oberlin’s steel pan ensemble. Along with this, she is an America Reads tutor and has been in the same fifth-grade classroom at Oberlin Elementary tutoring English language for multiple years. She also does research for the Anthropology department. Last summer, Weber did a study-abroad internship in Peru where she worked at an non-governmental organization in Cusco that works with Indigenous people. This past summer, she worked in Cleveland at Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services as an immigration legal intern.

For the first time, cross country had their very own Senior Night, organized by the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. In previous years, the cross country seniors were celebrated alongside track and field during one collective ceremony at the end of the year. This year, however, SAAC organized a ceremony to celebrate cross country on their own during the women’s soccer game against Hiram College. 

Fourth-year Margo Lee, who has been running track since she was five years old, expressed how personal this ceremony felt. 

“Definitely sad,” Lee said. “I have been playing at Oberlin for only two seasons, and I think that has made it especially personal. Wednesday was Senior Night, then we had our conference Saturday, which made me super aware going into Senior Night — like, I’m a senior and it’s my last one. But yeah, I’m feeling good.” 

Lee had the unique experience of being a transfer student-athlete, which has impacted her experience at Oberlin. When asked how her experience may have been different if she hadn’t joined cross country, she explained that her team served to ease the anxiety that came along with transferring. 

“I honestly can’t imagine my time as a transfer student at Oberlin without being on the cross country and track teams,” Lee said. “Transferring to a small school, especially halfway through an academic year, is such a scary thing to do, and I feel so grateful that I was greeted by a group of wonderful people who quickly became my closest friends.”  

Each senior expressed how different this year was compared to previous years playing their sport. Lee notes how this year she felt acutely aware of the fact that she is graduating in the spring.

“As a result, I am intentional about being present, definitely more so than in my previous year and a half at Oberlin,” Lee said. “I’m definitely emotional about having limited time to be a part of something so incredible as Oberlin cross country and track and field, so I try to soak up every moment, whether I’m in the middle of a tough workout, writing mantras on my teammates’ arms before a race, or walking with teammates from the locker room to [Stevenson Dining Hall] for dinner.” 

This past weekend, the cross country team participated in their first round of conference meets hosted at Denison College. Despite the meet being two hours away, they were greeted by 20 of their fellow track teammates who carpooled to cheer the team across the finish line. Lee described the comfort this brought her, making the away meet feel like home. 

“Our coach, Ray Appenheimer, often talks to us about the importance of making every meet feel like a home meet, and our team made sure that happened last weekend,” Lee said. “Throughout most of the race, I could hear my teammates cheering, and that energy gave me strength and pushed me forward. Perhaps most notably, they delivered a Yeo Baby cheer that I could hear for an entire mile.”

The cross country team is known for their exceptional spirit on the course. Lee highlighted how Oberlin was the only team who was covered in glitter and mantras they had written on each other in Sharpie. 

“I’ll write like ‘I’m strong,’ ‘I’m fearless,’ ‘I’m great,’ that kind of thing,” Lee said. “This weekend I wrote, ‘For the love of OCXC, OBLITERATE YOURSELF’ and I think that kind of thing lightens the mood. It’s like, I’m about to endure 20 more minutes of being drenched — but [I’m] having fun.”

Hunter Wilson, a fourth-year on the football team, emphasized hoWw rejuvenating his last season has been with new head coach John Pont. Wilson described the end to his football career as bittersweet.

“I would say that being with the guys for so long and growing such a strong bond with them has meant a lot for me,” Wilson said. “And it has really brightened my experience at Oberlin. But now that it’s coming to the end, knowing that I’m not going to be able to see them as much and interact with them and get to do all the things that I was doing like practice in the morning, lift, things like that — that’s gonna hurt a little bit, but obviously I really enjoyed my experience, and spending time with my family on Senior Night meant a lot for me.”

When asked how this year’s Senior Night differed from previous years, Wilson emphasized the impact that Coach Pont has made on the team’s camaraderie. The team won 37–35 on home turf against Concordia University Chicago for the first time in four years. 

“So this season, under our new head coach, Coach Pont, I felt a greater sense of faith and camaraderie amongst our team as opposed to previous seasons, when there was a lot more negativity in our program,” Wilson said. “Whereas this year, you know, when things have gotten difficult, we’ve all maintained positivity, and we also were able to get a big win in our second week of the year, and the season is not over yet. So, we still have two more opportunities. So, you know, obviously we’re moving in the right direction. There’s a lot of growth from last season just in terms of the faith that people have in our team. That just continues to build.” 

Wilson expressed how the recognition he received during the ceremony brought him immense satisfaction. 

“I felt recognized, especially for my contributions to the team,” Wilson said. “I really cherish the discipline that being a collegiate athlete taught me. It required me to create a schedule. It required me to be on time and attend everything that I had set in my schedule and give it my full effort and ability, which I feel like moving on into post undergrad and my life taught me a lot of lessons that I can continue to maintain.” 

Field hockey competed in their Senior Night game on Saturday, putting up a strong fight against Allegheny College, but ultimately losing 1–0. For fourth-years Abbie Patchen and Dee Pegues, the celebration evoked many heartfelt emotions. 

“I was feeling super reflective and sad that this was my last year playing field hockey,” Pegues said. “I’ve put so much work into the sport for so long that it feels weird that it’s over. But that moment on the field surrounded with the best team in the world, I felt nothing but pride and happiness. I am so glad I could spend my last game with them.”

Similarly, Patchen explained how nervous she was for the last game of her career. 

“I was more nervous for that game than I probably had been for any game in my career,” Patchen said. “There’s a lot more pressure when it’s the last game and all of our families were there but once we started warming up it all went away and we were all just able to have fun and enjoy our last time playing together.” 

A common Senior Night tradition is for all non-seniors to decorate the locker rooms for the graduating class prior to game day. Pegues expressed how not participating in the decorating was particularly moving. 

“I think the biggest difference was not decorating the locker room,” Pegues said. “I remember spending hectic late nights decorating the locker room for previous seniors. It felt so weird being on the other side of that experience. I know it seems small, but not decorating the locker room really stuck out to me.” 

When asked what they’d miss most about the season, both players emphasized how the time they spent with their teammates meant the most to them. 

“What I’ll miss most is getting to see them at the end of every day,” Patchen said. “Getting to laugh with them, just while we practice. Sometimes school can be really stressful. But practice and playing feel like it’s a time where you get to be outside, run around, and spend time with all of my best friends.” 

“I’m going to miss the team so much,” Pegues said. “Not just interacting with the team, but also playing with them, especially the seniors. The seniors and the team have been the one constant in my four years at Oberlin, and seeing us all improve over the years has been so special to see. I’m going to miss playing with them so much.”