Embedded Files
When our children were younger, we remember attending our very first Senior Day at an A-meet and being thoroughly impressed with what the Gator Seniors had accomplished in and out of the pool, and where they were headed when they finished high school. We remember thinking then that there must be something truly special about swimming and the Gator community if it was turning out kids like these. When we built the website, we started featuring seniors each year so that all Gator team members can get to know our graduating seniors.
We normally celebrate the seniors at the last home A-meet and that celebration is full of tradition and fun. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 and the decision by NVSL to cancel the season, this year's senior class has lost yet another tradition - senior day with the fins arch, the last home A-meet, the fun and success of one more summer swim season. For most, this was probably harder to take than missing prom and graduation. We will still celebrate our Gator Seniors virtually this year, and on a much smaller scale than usual, as part of the Green & White Meet on Saturday, July 25th.
Some seniors will also write their own "Memories/Reflections of a Gator" which will be posted on the Gator Blog throughout the remainder of the summer, as they come in; please check back here and click the links to read their thoughts when they are posted. They are an insightful group, so we think you will learn something from them, get a laugh, or maybe a good cry.
In some ways it seemed like a long time ago when we saw our first Gator Senior Day, but now we are the older parents and we have been there with our very own Senior in 2018, and are now celebrating a final time with our last senior, albeit in an odd and unexpected way. Trust us when we say that it goes by so very fast -- sort of like an A-meet relay! -- and you never know what might sideline your swimmer, so be sure to savor every magical summer Gator moment.
-- Jim and Tonda Phalen
Former Team Reps
Our 2020 MVP Gator Seniors
Olivia Blondin I have been swimming with the MVP Gators since I was 5 and I couldn't imagine my summers without it. I remember when I was younger, I always looked up to the older swimmers and now that is me. My favorite memories as a gator include belly flopping every time I dove into the water, cheering before meets, and going out to eat after away A meets. I am so thankful that I got to swim as a gator, because without it, I wouldn't have met some of my best friends and I wouldn't have experienced some of the happiest moments of my life. Also, being a gator has taught me so many life lessons and has shaped me into the person I am today.
I would like to thank my family for bringing me to practices and meets every summer and for always supporting me, all of the team reps from previous years and the current team reps for creating a great environment for me to grow as a swimmer and as a person, and Coach Paul for always pushing me to be the best swimmer I can be and for always making funny jokes about volleyball.
Next year I will be attending The Catholic University of America to study architecture and to play volleyball. I can't wait for what the future holds! Go Gators!!
Parker Blondin It's hard to believe that this is my last summer as a gator. While it has not been the ideal swim team filled senior summer many are accustomed too, the morning practices and meets have been some of the only semi-normal experiences I have had, and for that I am grateful.
I first began swimming at age 7 and I remember how terrified I was of the water. It was a new experience for me and as most parents can attest, 7-year-olds and new experiences don't mix, and I was no different, but as soon as I began to make new friends and surround myself in the gator community, I became fond of the sport. Over the past 10 years, I have made many memories, from winning races at divisional meets and all-stars to having a good laugh with friends at the pasta dinner, there has never been a dull moment on this team.
While many memories stand out, my favorite gator memory was from back in 2013 when I was 10 years old. The divisional meet was imminent and I had yet to beat the 9-10 50 Breaststroke record that I had my sights set on since the beginning of that season. I had tried and tried every A-meet but I couldn't seem to drop the half-second I needed to break the record. I was never a fan of my dad's long hair, which he knew, so the night before the divisional meet my dad decided to make a deal with me. He said to me, “if you break the record, I'll let you cut my ponytail off in front of the entire team at the sports banquet the following evening.” I don't know why that pushed me harder than ever before, but I managed to break the 30-year-old record that day. That is a day I don't think I will ever forget!
I would like to thank my parents for driving me back and forth every day to swim practice and to all the meets and for always supporting me. I would also like to thank all of the coaches, especially coach Paul, for sharing their love of the sport with me, even when they have to drive from Woodbridge every day to do it. And last but certainly not least, I would like to thank everyone who has made this gator experience memorable.
This, being my senior season on the swim team is bittersweet, but I am happy to be attending UCLA this fall. I will be majoring in political science and Spanish with the hopes of one day, becoming a practicing attorney. I am super excited to be a Bruin, but I will always be a Gator at heart. Go Gators!
I have been swimming with the Gators since I was five making this my 13th season with them. During the summer seasons, I have found a love for swimming, amazing friends, and opportunities for leadership. I also worked as a swim coach during both the winter and summer seasons and loved every minute of it!
I graduated from West Potomac High School where I received a community service award, an academic letter all four years, was an editor on the yearbook staff for 3 years, and also was a freshman mentor during my senior year. I was also a varsity swimmer for three years and managed the team in my final year.
My favorite memories as a gator were the coaches retreats, awards banquets, and getting dressed up for all the meets. I want to thank the Gator nation for being a second family for me and will miss spending summers with the team but can’t wait to see what my teammates do in the future.
I will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall, where I will be studying Public Relations with a minor in Political Science.
Paige Humphreys
Taylor Makin Taylor joined the Mount Vernon Park Gators when she was 4 and her parents began coaching for the Gators in 2006. She grew up around MVP, hanging out at the pool all morning every day. The teen coaches and older Gators were her role models and her extended family so it was only natural that when she turned 12, she started to help out with the little Gators since she had to be at the pool anyway. When she turned 13, she became a teen coach and that has been the true highlight of her Gator career. She loves working with the swimmers and watching them progress and even master a skill that they may not have thought they could have ever done.
Taylor’s favorite Gator memory was when she and Macheala Brotherton would create dances and weird jumps off the diving board while waiting for their parents to finish coaching.
As well as swimming for MVP, Taylor swam for NCAP for 12 years and four years with Woodbridge H.S. swim team where she was a captain her senior year and the photographer for the swim team for the last two years. She created the high school end of the year slide show for the swim team in the last two years as well. Taylor made All-Stars and All-Star Relays many years with MVP, as well as Regionals all four years with Woodbridge.
Taylor graduated from Woodbridge H.S. with an Advanced Placement Diploma, she was part of the National Honor Society, and she just completed her 13th year as a Girl Scout. Taylor plans to attend Radford University in the fall to study special education for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. She has a love for children and a special love for sign language.
Taylor would like to thank her parents for giving her the love of swimming, and especially coaching, and for being her support for the last 18 years. She would also like to thank her grandparents for being at every meet, cheering louder than any other person at the pool and attending every celebration they could. Even if they were division coordinators, meet managers, or any other duty they took on, they would always be there to support her. Thank you to all the Gators that have been her family through the last 14 years, it has been an amazing journey and she hopes it isn’t over. She hopes to be back next year by her dad’s side, coaching and helping to run the team to the next big adventure!
Read Taylor's "Reflections of a Gator" - click here.
Brian McNamara
Read Brian's "Reflections of a Gator" - click here.
Read Sheridan's "Reflections of a Gator" - click here.
For the past 13 years, the MVP Gator swim team has been my depiction of summer. Having the chance to compete and spend time with friends is better than any normal family vacation could be. Not to mention the memories made from playing sharks and minnows as an 8 and under, to fighting in the battle -- that you might call water polo -- as a 15-18. However, the best memories were made late on Saturday mornings, when winning a meet came down to the final relays.
I hopefully will continue to make memories this fall at Michigan State University where I will be swimming on the varsity team, and majoring in nutritional sciences and biological sciences while pursuing a teaching certificate in secondary education.
Sheridan Phalen
And because "Once a Gator, Always a Gator"
Our Honorary 2020 Senior Gators
Emily Atkinson
Abby DittmanAbby Dittman joined the Gators at 5 years old. She’s been swimming ever since. As time went on, she came to coach the little Gators. In the last year, Abby’s family moved but she has remained in touch with her Gator friends. And as the full team celebrated the seniors and all their accomplishments at the Green and White meet, Abby appeared fully clothed but, in true Gator spirit, swam a lap along with the other Gator seniors. Abby will be attending James Madison University this fall where she will study Psychology.
Gabby Greszler A Gator since the ripe age of 5, I have coached other gators for three years (since I was 14).
Favorite Memories: Running to get my goggles at All Star Relays in my brand new kneeskin and then ripping the first layer of fabric off of my toosh on the fence; seeing the Gator pool for the first time after the dingy, half-the-time practice was cancelled due to cold temperatures, leaking roof at the England pool; the day my mom made me swim in a B meet against Waynewood the day I landed from a total travel time of 18hrs from England and went straight to that meet.
Thanks to: Coach Emily, Coach Paul, Coach Jeff, Coach Mom, Coach Mary; Coach Christina; and (in England) Coach Dean, Coach Debbie, Coach Dan, Coach Phil
I am now in Montgomery, Alabama, using my swim goggles as sunglasses when I forget them. In the fall will go to University of Tennessee to study Civil Engineering. Zoe says hello.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse