ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Brandeis University swimming and diving teams opened their 2021-2 seasons with a pair of victories at the Hartwick Relays. Against a field of five opponents, the men outpaced their foes with 136 points, 40 ahead of host Hartwick and LeMoyne, while the women tallied 126 to defeat LeMoyne by 38. In all, the Judges won 15 of the 21 races held.

The Judges' biggest winner on the day was senior Brendon Lu (Basking Ridge, N.J. / Ridge), who participated in a team-high four wins for the Brandeis men. He swam the second leg of the 400-medley relay, the 3x100 breaststroke relay, the 3x200 IM relay, and the mixed 200-medley relay.

On the women's side, there were three swimmers who contributed to three victories each. First-year Chloe Gonzalez (Miami Beach, Fla. / Miami Beach Senior) was impressive in her collegiate debut, anchoring the winning women's 400-medley relay, swimming the third leg in the mixed 200-medley relay and leading off the winning 200-free relay. Senior Olivia Stebbins (Willington, Conn. / Edwin O. Smith) was part of the winning 400-medley relay, the 3x100 breaststroke relay and the 800-medley relay. Junior Bailey Gold (Berkeley Heights, N.J. / Governor Livingston) contributed to the win in the 400-medley, as well as in the 3x100 butterfly relay and the 800-medley relay.

Seven different men contributed to three wins in addition to Lu's four. Sophomore Sam Dienstag (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) swam the anchor leg in two wins: the 400-medley relay and the 850-crescendo relay, where he swam a 500-yard leg. He also swam the second leg of the winning 200-free relay. Sophomore Andrew Ngo (San Gabriel, Calif. / Gabrielino) led off the 400-yard medley relay and 3x200-IM relay wins, while swimming the second, 100-meter leg of the 850-crescendo relay. Junior James Barno (Ballston Spa, N.Y. / Ballston Spa) led off the winning 3x100 free relay and was part of the winning 200-yard medley relay and the 3x100 butterfly relay. The rest of the triple winners for the Judges are: sophomore Austin Shih (Brentwood, Tenn. / Brentwood); sophomore George Zhu/Sydney, Australia / Knox Grammar), second-year swimmer Tal Spector (Phoenix, Ariz. / Herberger Young Scholars Academy) and sophomore Ido Petel (New York, N.Y. / Frank McCourt).  

The Judges will have a full dual meet next Saturday at 1 p.m. when they play host to Vassar College.