PITTSBURGH, PA - Today the Chatham men's and women's swim and dive team head to California, PA for their season opening meet. 

The Cougars have put in the work for this upcoming season and are ready to hit the water.

The team has set individual and team goals to achieve this year. Assistant Coach Hailey Poe expresses what she is looking for during this season. Poe states, "Our primary goal for this year is improving our team performances at PACs. We believe that the team is ready to challenge their individual and relay performances from last year and compete with the best in the conference." 

In addition, Poe points to the cultural strides the team is making. "We are working on holding each other to higher standards inside and outside the pool. This means our athletes are committed to bringing full effort and energy to every practice, embracing being outside of their comfort zones, and upholding team expectations." 

The swim and dive program this season has the majority of their swimmers and divers returning, with only three newcomers. Poe expresses how each one will contribute unique strengths to the team.  

"Our two newcomers on the men's side, Zach and Damien, each enter with unique backgrounds. Zach is a diver and swimmer, and his excitement for learning new skills on the board will open the door to incredible development under our diving coach, Todd Hillman. Damien has only scratched the surface of his potential as a swimmer. He is incredibly well-rounded, and will impact the conference in multiple events, especially the distance ones. Our women's newcomer, Avital, is a transfer from IUP. She has great experience on the distance side, and we are looking for her to finish out her collegiate swimming career on a high note." 

Poe is excited to see how this team can improve their team performances at PACs and ultimately grow as a team. The team is looking at Malone as their biggest test of the season. However, Poe notes that the meet offers value beyond just the competition, "The prelims/finals format of the meet will also help us practice racing multiple times per day in one meet, which will give us a good taste of what is to come at PACs." This format will be crucial for preparation for the ultimate goal of climbing the conference standings. \

The Cougars hit the road today, October 9th, and will travel to California, PA for their first meet which will take place at 4 PM.