On Thursday, the newly formed Hingham-Cohasset swim team took on Pembroke for their first meet of the winter season. With outstanding performances from both Cohasset and Hingham both the girls and the boys teams won, marking the first victory of the season.
The new team is calling themselves the “Skippermen,” a combination of the two mascots from Cohasset and Hingham, the Skippers and the Harbormen. Since practice began last Monday, the team has been working eagerly to both get in shape for the season and become acquainted with their new teammates.
For the girls, Hingham/Cohasset won with a score of 137 points to 25. The boys also claimed victory with a final score of 97 points to 50 points. With outstanding performances from Cohasset’s Ashley Wagner and Johnny Appleton, and Hingham’s Ella Cignetti and Amelia Byrne in the freestyle events, the Skippermen dominated. After the meet, energy was running high. Junior and teammate Teddy Lambert described the meet as a “domination” and included that “we are great as a team and were able to come together.”
Gaining points in dual meets requires participation from the entire team to catalyze a supportive environment, motivating swimmers to lead the team to gather first place finishes. In individual events, MIAA rules state that first place gets six points, second place gets four, and third place gets three. In addition to individual events, there are several relays for both girls and boys that score additional points. Relays score eight points for first place, four points for second place, and two points for third place.
Since last year, Hingham has regained Ella Cignetti and Coco Berube – two beloved team members out last season due to injuries. In fact, following the end of the meet, Coco asserted that, “I think Hingham/Cohasset really dominated. I think we stood our ground, looked really good out there. Everyone swam great times, and I am excited for a great season.”
Overall, both Hingham and Cohasset alike declare the first meet of the season an overwhelming success. As the team moves forward they are challenged with navigating through the benefits and drawbacks of merging teams to double their previous sizes. On Tuesday the Skippermen will face off against Duxbury at 4:00 pm. Their apparent enthusiasm and spirit will hopefully remain moving into the rest of the season.
