The 1980 Girls Swim Team

There were early signs that the 1980 girls swimmers and divers were pretty good – along with the questions whether their youth and formidable schedule would take their toll during a long season.
The Falcon girls answered in a resounding and startling fashion, crushing Germantown Academy, 106-50, and than Mercersburg, 106-66. After an 11-0 dual-meet record and a first place finish at the Atlantic Seaboard Championships, few doubts remained that the Peddie girls had at last gained equal footing with the boys.

Guiding this success was Jeffrey Lowe with his ability to maximize potential while bringing excitement, commitment and pride to the pool deck. All-Americans Sue Danielson and Karen Jubanyik provided senior leadership along with Lori Forcina, Gail Huffmire, Sue Falonna and manager Michelle Bodin. The ‘youth movement’ was let by freshman Joan Franz and sophomores Lynn Haggerty, Diane Makarewicz and Tracy Winfree.

Their defining moment came at the inaugural girls Easterns hosted by Philip Andover. The young women from Peddie proved their mettle, displaying great camaraderie as they dominated the meet. The performance of Diana Caskey ’81 in the 500-yard freestyle was especially uplifting. She set a new National Prep standard with a time of 5:03.16 and also captured gold in the 200 freestyle.

The 1980 girls swim team turned out to be pretty good after all. They pulled together as one, swam their best and made history.