The Northampton girls and boys varsity swim team kicks off their fifth season under head coach Gwen Whildin this week with a strong slate of returning swimmers and high hopes for a winning season.

The Northampton team has been preparing for their season opening meet against Louis E. Dieruff High School on Thursday, Dec. 11.

The team, which includes 11 boys and 18 girls, began practicing for the 2013-2014 season on Nov. 18. The team's roster is heavy with returning seniors while new swimmers to the team include several freshman swimmers.

"The team has been focusing on intensity during practices and swimming quality yardage," said assistant coach Cullen Mentzell of the team's preseason work. "We've been just working on coming together as a team and getting ready to approach the upcoming season as a team effort."

Together there are nine seniors on this year's team: girls Madison Bernal, Paige Knouse, Hannah Peters and Emma Steirer along with boys Kyle Iasiello, Ben Longacre, Cory Ninos, Nick Paylacka and Joe Szerencsits. Junior girls are Grace Cochrane, Alex Fisher and Kelly Thomas. Sophomore girls are Annalise Christy, Ashley Kuronya, Kaitlyn Nemes and Rachel Pursell with freshmen Morgan Fehnel, Alexis Frey, Gabrielle Guerrera and Hanna Novobilski.

For the boys, Kaden Chambers is the lone junior and Steton Weber is the only sophomore. Freshmen are Michael Bauer, Gavyn Frankenfield, Jared Iasiello and Josh Millan.

Over the past several seasons, head coach Gwen Whildin has often referred to Northampton as a team in the midst of a rebuilding period, but with enrollment numbers low and without divers to compete in the diving portion of their meets, Northampton's revitalization seemed to stall recently. This season, however, with the team's number of swimmers on the rise and four divers (2 boys and 2 girls) poised to compete for Northampton, it seems the rebuilding of the Northampton swim program continues.

Whildin and coach Kelly Miller will work with the diving portion of the team in addition to working with the competitive swimmers.

Rounding out this season's coaching staff are: assistant coaches Melissa Adams, Mentzell, Mel Lebo and Nichole Hamburg.

The team will face Pocono Mountain East on Saturday, Dec. 14. The team's first home meet will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 17 in the Northampton Middle School Natatorium against Freedom.