Two key seniors will be missed.

Seniors Paige Haden and Ana Woods will be gone on college visits, which will cause a dilemma for the girls swimming meet against Deerfield on Sept. 25.

“The rest of the team needs to step up because Paige and Ana are our top backstroker and breaststroker, so we have several kids looking to take their place,” says coach Kevin Auger.

With a lot of depth, the team is looking for seniors Olivia Everhart and Julia Bartol to cover for Woods and Haden.

The last time these two schools competed against each other was in 2010. The upcoming meet is the CSL crossover. Matchups against Deerfield are rare because the Warriors are members of the CSL North, while ETHS is in the CSL South. In order for the schools to swim against each other, they must finish in the same place, respectively, on both sides of the conference.

“They’re one of the best teams in the North division of the CSL,” says Auger.

“Deerfield is a pretty good team. They’ve been strong competitors in the past,” adds senior captain Rebecca Schumm.

In the past few meets, the Kits have yet to show the consistency that the team is looking for. On Sept. 12, the Kits traveled to Barrington High School, losing that meet 100-76. A day before that, ETHS hosted Niles North and came out victorious, 131-54. On Sept. 4, ETHS swam against the defending state champions, Loyola, and lost 109-77.

On the other hand, Deerfield has started its season 3-0. With wins against Bartlett, Mundelein, and Glenbrook South, the momentum is on their side.

The Kits will be coming into the match with thirteen days since their last meet against Barrington. During that time, they will practice every day before and after school. They may not be in midseason form, but overall, they don’t seem to be worried.

“The longer you train, the more muscle you build, the faster you get,” says senior Iana Wolff, “We might be a bit rusty, but we won’t be far off of our previous times.”

While the team tries to forget about their recent struggles and their sluggish start to the season, their confidence for the upcoming meet against Deerfield is high.

“Our team is definitely stronger overall,” says Schumm.