Local swim teams ready to make a splash

As the Greater Charlotte Swim League begins the 2017 season, three local teams are gunning for division titles.

The Baxter Barracudas, Springfield Greenwave and Fort Mill Dolphins are all in different divisions this season and won’t be squaring off head-to-head. Baxter is in Division II and will open its season at Weddington Chase with 227 swimmers ready to hit the pool.

“We have got a lot of new faces,” said Baxter head coach Adam Rainey. “We have a great group of kids and a lot of talent.”

With 227 swimmers, Baxter is one of the largest teams in the division. Their deepest age group is the 7-8-year-olds with 65 swimmers, but they also field 32 swimmers 15-18-year-old who boast a lot of experience.

Baxter has home meets June 12, June 19 and June 16.

Springfield will race for the Division III crown and opens on the road at Firethorne. The Greenwave has 155 swimmers and head coach Jen Molnar feels good about her team’s chances in a tough division.

“We have a big team with lots of returning faces,” Molnar said.

Molnar said her team has a lot of year-round swimmers, which should help this summer.

“It is amazing to see their improvement over the winter,” she said.

Springfield’s biggest group is 7-8-year-olds with over 50 swimmers. The Greenwave has home meets June 12, June 19 and June 29.

The Fort Mill Dolphins, which swims at the Anne Springs Close Greenway Recreation Complex, will compete in Division IV and opens on the road June 8. The Dolphins have 106 swimmers to choose from and has their biggest group in the 9-10-year-old ages. Head coach Harry Truesdale said the competition from his swimmers should lead them to a decent finish.

“We have a lot of competition in our league,” Truesdale said. “We should hit somewhere in the middle with aspirations for winning it all.”

Truesdale said all of his age groups are really strong with the 15-18-year-olds being the strongest. The Dolphins have home meets June 12, June 26 and June 29.

All three divisions will end their season at the Rock Hill Aquatics Center with an All-Star event for their respective divisions. Baxter’s division will be July 9 at 6 p.m. Springfield’s division will hold its meet the same day at noon and Fort Mill will hold its meet July 8 at 6 p.m.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 6:50 PM with the headline "Local swim teams ready to make a splash."