After a week on dry land, the Phoenix High School swim team was happy to be back in the water on Friday night.

The Pirates opened the 2017-2018 season at the Valley Relays in Medford. While no team scores were kept, the meet was a solid start after the team was unable to use the Meyer Memorial Pool in Ashland for practice due to equipment malfunctions.

"Our team is nearly half brand new to the sport so it was great to see our experienced athletes support them with advice, role modeling, empathy and more," Pirate coach Jim Heath said. "We had no missed events, and all of our athletes performed at or better than they expected given our lack of preparation. That kind of foundation will undoubtedly turn our season outlook much brighter!"

The Pirates were heading back to practice on Monday night (the pool pump was fixed) and will return to competition on Sunday at the North Medford Invitational.