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By Ned Sheehan
Hometown Weekly Intern
On Thursday, July 13, hundreds of swimmers and their families packed the pool at Westwood High School to watch the an exciting swim meet between the undefeated Walpole Barracudas and a resilient set of Westwood Waves (0-3), with the Barracudas prevailing by a final score of 200-122 despite a hard-fought effort by Westwood.
Over the course of dozens of races, the two teams both gave strong performances. Walpole swam with the superb form that has distinguished them all season long, while the Waves kept in the running despite having far fewer swimmers.
“We always have fun at these meets,” said Westwood head coach Samantha Packard. “Every one of our swimmers did great and so did all of the Walpole swimmers. It really was an excellent meet.”
Barracudas head coach Cheryl Cavanaugh agreed with Packard’s assessment.
“It was a great meet,” said Cavanaugh. “It was great to have an indoor meet on a cold day like today, and the Waves were very sportsmanlike. If every meet could be like this one, we’d be very happy.”
Though the Waves fought valiantly, the Barracudas pulled away late for the 200-122 victory to continue their undefeated run this season.
“I think we can have an undefeated season, I really do,” said one Walpole swimmer.
Westwood, meanwhile, remains positive despite the defeat and are hopeful that the best has yet to come this summer in the pool.
“We may have lost, but it was a strong performance against a great team,” said one Westwood swimmer. “This team’s best is still ahead.”
Only time will tell if Walpole is able to finish undefeated or if Westwood can use their resiliency to climb back over .500, but as this August’s regional championships draw near, one thing is clear: given the way they competed on Thursday, this year’s Walpole Barracudas and Westwood Waves are definitely two squads to keep an eye on.
