Rocket swim’s unbeaten streak ends at three

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On Tuesday, January 1, the Needham High School boys swim and dive team suffered its first loss of the season against Natick, falling to 3-1 on the year.

Previously, the Rockets had beaten Boston College High School in their home opener, along with victories at Belmont on December 11 and on December 21 against Holliston (104-65).

Despite losing a lot of senior leadership from last season, the Rockets have seen many of their underclassmen step up and perform significantly during the team’s first several meets. They have also seen results from their juniors and seniors.

Of the many highlights and performances from the New Year’s Day meet, maybe none were more impressive than junior Ben Shapiro, who set the school record for the 1 meter dive with a score of 262.85.

Kicking off the meet was the 200 medley relay. Needham’s A-unit comprised of Zibing Zhang, Henry Keegan, Andrew Treil and Eric Zhu, who placed first with a time of 1.42.26. Following the medley was the 200-yard freestyle, in which Keegan placed first.

Needham swam strongly throughout the meet with more impressive performances, such as those from senior captain Serge Sonkin, who placed first in the 100 butterfly, Andrei Treil in the 100-yard backstroke, and Keegan, who swam to a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle.

The meet closed with the 400-meter relay, in which Sonkin, Zhang, Lucas Pirner and Keegan placed second. Despite a valiant effort, Needham was unable to take the victory in this one and fell by a close final score of 95-91.

Needham will look to recover from their losses when they square off against rival Brookline on January 26 at Babson.