Mason Afifi recalls being among the first to make a lap at Deaconess Aquatic Center when it opened in October 2021. Now a freshman at North High School, Afifi sees regular time at the complex, training with other members of the Greater Evansville Aquatic Team beneath a wall-sized photo of GREAT alumna Lilly King. “She grew up swimming on this team, which makes it very cool to think that an Olympic champion started the same way as all of us,” Afifi says.
Founded in 2003 as a for-profit organization, GREAT is affiliated with USA Swimming and saw its profile raised as King gained international prominence. But the January 2021 closing of Lloyd Pool was a setback: Before DAC opened nine months later, GREAT swam wherever it could, whether it was outdoors at Hartke Pool or at Ascension St. Vincent YMCA’s indoor pool Downtown.
The team has risen dramatically in state standings, placing 35th in 2023, 20th in 2024, 13th in 2025, and fifth in 2026. This summer, nine GREAT swimmers helped Team Indiana finish second of six teams at the Central Zone’s southern division 14-and-under championships at the DAC.
“There is no doubt that training out of the aquatic center, as opposed to Lloyd Pool, has created a ton of opportunities for our team,” including hosting meets, says GREAT coach Jake Downs.
Assistant Coach Lindsay Benedyk says GREAT often struggled in its early years because it shared limited space with the public swim teams. That didn’t stop the team from getting creative with fundraising. “(For) a couple years, we hosted a Splash and Dash where the kids ran a mile after racing in the pool,” Benedyk says. The team switched to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2009.
Even just six years ago, the team was small and faced significant financial challenges, with the possibility of folding. “Through fundraising, recruiting, and countless hours of time and sacrifice from coaches, parents, and swimmers, the team steadily increased in size and became financially strong while based in Lloyd Pool,” says former GREAT head coach Beth Ann Ivie.
With Downs now at the controls, GREAT’s three age divisions and around 150 swimmers “set the standard every day with their attitude and effort, and it has been fun to watch the entire team grow and improve the past few years due to their hard work,” Ivie says.
Downs tries to ensure that his athletes use swimming to help learn life’s lessons. “Although not every swimmer can become an Olympian, we believe that every swimmer can pursue excellence of their own degree,” he says.
