A common complaint from athletes on some teams at Tufts is that crowds here are often lackluster.
The varsity swimming squads are here to help.
In an effort to drum up more support for their fellow Jumbos, the members of the men's and women's swimming teams have been attending volleyball games in droves, showing off their school spirit and bolstering the atmosphere in Cousens Gymnasium.
The fanaticism began a few years ago when the team decided to take all of their swimming recruits to a volleyball game one weekend. Since then, the swimmer spirit has spiraled into a fierce team tradition in which they go to as many volleyball games as possible together. They have started to spread their cheer to other Tufts teams as well.
"I'm not even sure when it started, but ever since I was a freshman it's been a tradition to go cheer volleyball on," senior Travis Grodkiewicz said. "This season we've also gone to field hockey games and soccer games. It's been a really fun thing to do during my whole time at Tufts."
At a minimum, there are 20 swimmers at each game they organize to attend, members of the team said. But on the two main recruiting weekends, there are upwards of 60 fans in the swimming section, half of which are high school recruits.
Their presence and enthusiasm at the sports games do not go unnoticed or unappreciated.
"They are so enthusiastic and they come to every one of our games. They make up most of the student section," junior volleyball setter Kendall Lord said. "It makes home games so much fun and they're so loud. They have this rollercoaster cheer, and it really pumps us up to play."
Lord, in fact, had heard that the swim teams were huge fans of the volleyball team before she was even a Tufts student.
"Ever since I've been on the Tufts volleyball game, the swimmers have always been going to volleyball. Actually before I came, I even heard about how much support they show for the team," Lord said. "In the offseason, they come and practice with us during open gym. I think they must realize through watching the games that volleyball is such a fun sport."
The swim team is encouraged by the positive reception from the teams that they support.
"The volleyball team always thanks the fans at the end of the games. And the coach has even acknowledged us at some points," senior Peter Debbaut said.
Volleyball always returns the favor and attends at least one swim meet every winter season, members of the team said. Their presence is especially welcomed by the swimmers, whose main fan base is often their families.
"Tufts lacks fan support for certain teams. There are just certain sports that are neglected in terms of fans. Pretty much no one goes to swim events," Debbaut said. "You can't fit that many people into the pool; I don't expect anyone to come out. But so it's really great when the volleyball team comes and supports us."
For Grodkiewicz, the fandom is a way to bring together teams that sometimes tend to stick to themselves.
"It's nice when people cheer us on, so I like to do the same. It gets you going when you're playing your sport, whatever that may be," Grodkiewicz said. "I think it brings the teams closer together. I feel like sometimes there might be divides between the teams, like everyone has their own cliques, but when you go out and cheer it brings us all together."
