When they were in the first grade, twins Mary and Brian Brennan got their first taste of organized swimming.
Twelve years later, they both still relish their time in the pool — Mary as Beverly High senior captain, and Brian captaining Catholic Conference champion St. John's Prep.
They still compete for the YMCA Sharks where they learned to swim a dozen years ago. Despite their busy schedules they also find time to support each other by going to as many of each other's high school meets as possible.
"Mary is my biggest supporter," said Brian, the conference MVP. He and the Eagles will shoot for their fifth straight Division 1 state title tonight at Harvard (7:30 p.m.).
"I've been to all the Beverly High meets, and Mary goes to as many of mine as she can. It's really nice having that kind of support, and she understands what goes into it better than anybody."
Mary missed the Eagles' Catholic Conference meet last week, but she had a good reason for not being there to cheer Brian and his teammates to victory. "I was canning for my team," said Mary, who is also vice president of her senior class at BHS.
"We're still teammates on the Sharks, but we don't swim the same events. Brian likes to do long distance freestyle while I'm more of a sprinter. I really like the backstroke, especially the 100. What he likes to do requires so much strength and endurance; I could never do it."
Mary has no problem admitting that her brother is more committed to swimming. She's chosen to become involved in other sports at Beverly High, including field hockey and tennis.
"Being on the same team we've always been very competitive," she said. "but Brian has gone to the Y Nationals (three times), and while I've been to Y districts, regionals and USA meet, I never made it to Nationals. I love swimming, but not to the same degree Brian does. He is very serious about it and totally committed to keep improving."
Mary's first choice for college is UMass-Amherst, with Roger Williams also high on her list. Swimming will always be part of her life, but she plans to get involved in other activities.
"I want to keep swimming to stay fit, and if I wind up going to Roger Williams I will swim," said Mary, who wants to major in early education or special education. "I really like UMass but probably wouldn't swim varsity there, only intramurals."
Her brother was on two first place swimming relay teams to help St. John's Prep win North Sectionals last Sunday at MIT. He, along with Robert Breen, Ryan Fortin and John Bateman captured the 200 freestyle relay; he also combined with Brendan Moran, Breen and Aaron Athanas to win the 400 free relay.
Brian has not committed to a college yet, but has his choice of several top schools. He has been accepted to UMass-Amherst, Providence College and the University of Alabama, and is waiting to hear from Kenyon College (Ohio), Clemson and Villanova.
"I really like Kenyon," said Brian. "It's a D-3 program that has won 29 national championships in a row. When I do commit I definitely plan to continue my swimming career."
Early wake up call
That early wake up call on Saturday mornings for Y practice at 5:30 or 6 a.m. doesn't always get Mary out of bed, but Brian is always up and ready to go.
"He always encourages me to go, but a lot of times Brian has left without me," Mary admitted. "He works very hard to keep getting better. I work hard too, but not to the same degree he does.
"My goal this year was to make Sectionals and to improve my 100 backstroke. I took five seconds off my previous best time, so I'm happy with that, but I just missed qualifying for Sectionals. I was really bummed about that."
When they were little, the twins were very competitive. As Mary got older she realized that because boys' times are faster, beating him would be very difficult.
"We were always pretty competitive," said Brian. "I would make fun of her because I'd go faster. I guess I got a big head, and Mary would run to Mom and Dad for support. They'd cut me down to size pretty quickly.
"Now whenever she comes to my meets, all my friends say how much we look alike and that we have the same personalities. Honestly, we don't see it, but so many people think so I guess there's something to it."
A tri-captain for the Eagles, Brian won the 100 freestyle and helped both the 200 and 400 free relays take first place at the Catholic Conference Meet.
"Our goal at the Prep is always to win the Catholic Conference," said Brian, who has gone to Nationals with the Sharks three times. "But there's no question winning another state championship would be a great way to finish the season. That would definitely make us all feel better about ourselves."
