The Washington and Lee women’s swimming team won its 21st overall and fourth consecutive ODAC conference title Sunday evening.

The swimmers spent three days in Christiansburg, Va., competing against other schools. Washington and Lee finished each day in first place, leading to a final score of 927 points and a much-coveted conference title.

“We were so excited,” said sophomore Delaney Rolfe. “We kind of had the hint we were going to win, but that didn’t make the victory any less sweet.”

The team has been training since the middle of September for the big tournament, including daily trips to the weight room, dryland multiple times per week, and a holiday training trip to Florida over Christmas break. 

“I think the training trip does a lot for the team,” said Rolfe. “We also have a dry season, meaning no drinking alcohol from Christmas training on, until after ODACs, which I definitely think helped keep people focused on our final goal.”

Rolfe attributes the team’s success to its unique chemistry. “This team is a lot closer than it has been in the past,” Rolfe said. We’re stronger. Faster. Harder-working. More dedicated. As a whole, I’ve enjoyed being on the team a lot more.”

“They are a team in the truest sense,” added Coach Kami Gardner. “They work together and they support each other. We are one unit and they were willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to be a championship team.”

Gardner has been the W&L women’s swimming coach for the past four years. The team has won ODAC conference titles every year under her leadership.

“I would definitely attribute our success to Coach,” said sophomore Brittany Ross, Chatham, NJ. “She put in so much time in making us better and it really paid off.”

Also contributing to the team’s success was a new group of freshmen who “came in and were ready to go,” said Ross.

“We lost a couple of really strong seniors,” she said. “But we’ve got a great group of freshmen who work really hard. It was a lot of fun getting to know them.”

The ODAC, or Old Dominion Athletic Conference, added women’s sports to their agenda prior to the 1982-83 school year. Today, the conference supports 22 sports, including women’s swimming, and has 13 active school participants.

The W&L women’s swimming team has won ODACs 21 times since 1988, followed closest by Sweet Briar who has only won four times since joining the conference. Hollins and Randolph-Macon are the only other schools that have also won this conference title.

Although it might seem tempting for the women’s swimming team to slack off in their success, Coach Gardner refuses to let that happen.

“As a coach, you can’t just be satisfied,” said Gardner. “You have to find areas to improve. Immediately after we won, I started focusing on what we can do better. But don’t get me wrong, there was definitely a sense of satisfaction. It was a great season.”