The Emmaus girls swimming and diving team’s roster might not have as many swimmers as usual, but it has a lot of strong upper-class leadership and plenty of reason to think this is going to be a great season. Of the 18 swimmers on the roster, seven are seniors. Along with them are three juniors, five sophomores, and three freshmen.

One of the senior swimmers who is looking for big things in her final season is Georgia Magditch, who will be fighting for her first trip to states this season. She comes into the season with a lot of confidence and coach Tim O’Connor sees no reason why she can’t be heading to Bucknell University with the rest of the state qualifiers to cap off her high school career.

“Georgia is one of those people where at one point last season, a light just went on and she realized that she has got this,” said O’Connor. “She swam in a meet at State College last week and after her swim, all of the coaches just looked at each other and thought ‘wow.’ I think everything is there for her to be successful.”

Magditch is being pushed by a friendly family rivalry. Her brother Alex made three trips to states and often reminds her of that when he is home from college, so getting a trip to states and combining that with a big performance would help.

“There’s definitely a big chip on my shoulder,” said Magditch with a smile. “He’s got something on me and every time he comes home from college, he kind of brings it up, but this year is going to be my year.”

As a senior, Magditch is looked at to help lead the team and takes that role seriously. Magditch, who is the tallest member of the girls’ team, knows that can be intimidating to young swimmers, so she has taken the initiative to get to know the younger swimmers and let them know that she is there to help.

“I remember being intimidated as a freshman, so I try to make it easy for them to approach me with any questions or if they have a problem,” said Magditch. “We’re actually pretty close as a team. I think we’re closer than we have been with each other since I have been on the team and that helps. I also try to lead just by going about things the right way and working in practice and always trying to get better. Hopefully, that kind of rubs off on younger swimmers.”

The seniors – Amelia Baldwin, Amanda Barnes, Harper Daly, Jillian Fidelman, Keira Gilboy, Izzy Sparaco, and Magditch – give Emmaus a group to rally around during the season.

O’Connor welcomed back one of his swimmers to be a part of the coaching staff this season. Morgan Oxley, who was part of the 200-medley relay team that set a state record while winning a gold medal back in 2009, is now on the coaching staff at Emmaus. That was also the last class to win a girls state championship, wrapping up a streak of three in a row and five in six seasons.

“When she stands out there and kids look up and see that banner, they tend to listen,” said O’Connor. “She has been through everything that they go through and has a banner hanging up there to show for it. I want these kids to realize that can happen.”