Indians’ girls enter season confident, not cocky

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Four years ago they were the Fab Five Freshman. Now they are the Super Six Seniors.

The Old Town senior girl swimmers who plan to lead the Indians to their sixth straight state title this year call themselves cliquey, confident and even cocky. But clearly it is their camaraderie that has fueled their success.

Becky Cyr, Jenny Godsoe, Margaret Greenman, Vasia Markides, Emily Oliver and late-bloomer Jessy Madden share three state championships and have lost just one dual meet in four years – to Morse last year.

Cyr, Greenman, Markides, Godsoe and Oliver have been swimming together since fifth grade. Madden joined the group during her freshman year when the others lured her away from basketball. She took up the butterfly and placed at states for the first time last year with a fifth-place finish in the 100-meter butterfly.

Watching and listening to the six friends talk about their accomplishments it’s easy to see why the kind of chemistry they have is sought in sports.

Ask the group one question and the story of the Old Town swimming tradition, their friendship, and what they want to achieve flows forth like ripples in a pool.

“Winning states is definitely a goal. We’re trying not to be too cocky. We’re all really good. We’re getting lots of points back,” Godsoe says. “But Morse is getting points back.”

“We all play soccer and a lot of us play tennis. Everyone thinks I play tennis because we all hang out together. But I don’t,” Greenman. says. “It’s cliquey, but it’s O.K.”

Ask them about their friendship and the six swimmers sound like a rap song, pointing to trends and traditions in rapid-fire fashion.

“We’ve all been swimming together for four years,” Oliver says.

“We all hang out together,” Cyr adds.

“We all support each other. This year is the closest we’ve ever been,” Markides says. “We go through so much. It’s a team sport. We can all relate. We are together at the wall, before meets.”

The friendship the swimmers share seems essential to their success, especially because, as Cyr explains, swimmers are misunderstood.

“Other sports teams want us to lose,” Cyr says. “They think we are cocky. We have to have confidence.”

Cyr insists athletes in many other sports can not relate to the exhausting workouts involved in swimming. The others agree.

“We all swim on the Y team. That takes a lot. People say we complain,” Cyr says.

“Everyone says swimmers are whiners,” Markides adds. “They don’t know how hard it is. It’s just how hard our practice is.”

“But we never say that,” Oliver swears.

“They think it’s not a sport,” Cyr concludes.

Oliver takes the topic to another level. No one asks her to explain the philosophy and psychology behind swimming, but she is compelled. The small, wiry swimmer defends her sport with commanding authority.

“It’s a team sport. But it’s not,” Oliver says. “You’re all alone. You’re just staring at the bottom of the pool. You have to be OK with yourself. In other sports you can talk to other people. You can’t when you’re swimming. You’re always working hard. Swimming by yourself, you need something to think about.”

With so much time for meditation and thought one would think the six must do well in school, as well.

Markides says all six swimmers are good students. Godsoe adds with hurried nonchalance that all are taking advanced placement courses. Then Godsoe returns to explaining the philosophy of swimming.

“I sing when I swim,” says Godsoe, the only one in the group who has won a state championship. Godsoe captured the 200 individual medley state title as a freshman.

“Well, I listen to the music being played . When I do the backstroke I sing,” Godsoe says.

As if underscoring the swimmers’ independence and confidence, each Indian views her future as a solo adventure.

All seem ready to leave their happy, inseparable group and seek new challenges. Not all six are certain where they want to go to college, and not all are certain they want to swim after high school.

“I want to go to UMO,” Godsoe says with conviction. “Hopefully, get a scholarship. I need to drop my times a lot.”

“If I get accepted to a program and it has a pool, I’ll swim,” Greenman muses.

Madden is not sure she will continue to swim. She isn’t even certain swimming is her best sport. She has played softball since she was eight, soccer since middle school. A swimming career was unexpected.

“I think everyone is applying to different places,” Madden says. “I’d like to swim. I might play soccer or softball in college. I’d like to do something. I’m not sure what.”

As NEWS photographer Scott Haskell asks the former Fab Five how they stood in the photo taken in 1993 for a NEWS story on the fast freshmen, someone remembers, which amazes Oliver.

“What was the order? Someone actually remembers that?” Oliver says, then adds with what some might call a whiny voice. “Oooh, I don’t want to get in.”

But as the swimmers jump in the pool laughing and grinning, their energized attitude would hush any critics. Call them cocky, but Old Town’s six senior swimmers have a competitiveness full of conviction and caution.

“Winning states is a tough goal,” Godsoe says. “It’s possible, I don’t know how probable it is. It’s gotten harder every year.”