WORCESTER, Mass. – The Brandeis swim and dive team kicked off their midseason championship meet, the Gompei Invitational, today at WPI. Combined between the morning and evening sessions the Judges set six new school records and had six top three finishes. After day one, the combined team is in seventh place out of 10 with 1012 points.

In the morning for the men, junior Sam Dienstag (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) broke his previous school record in the 500-yard freestyle by almost four seconds, placing first for the finals with a time of 4:26.99. The Judges had 17 individual swims qualify for finals. At night, sophomore Andrew Ngo (San Gabriel, Calif. / Gabrielino) and first-year Benjamin Lee (Upton, Mass. / Nipmuc Regional High School) both placed in the top 10 with Ngo being the top finisher at sixth with a time of 1:56.80. In the 50-yard freestyle, Dienstag was the top finisher for Brandeis, finishing seventh with a time of 21.54. In the 500-yard freestyle, Dienstag won the event, but did not break the record again, finishing with a time of 4:28.37. In the 200-yard breaststroke, sophomore Allen Hawkins (Weston, Conn. / Weston High School) was the top finisher, placing 25th with a time of 2:16.78. In the final individual event of the night, senior James Smith (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington High School) was the top 100-yard butterfly finisher for the Judges, placing 13th with a time of 52.47. In the 200-yard medley relay, senior Benton Ferebee (Memphis, Tenn. / Memphis University School), first-year Eric Xiao (College Station, Texas / AM Consolidated High School), Smith, and Dienstag finished sixth with a time of 1:34.38. In the 800-yard freestyle relay, Dienstag, Ngo, Xiao, and Lee finished second in a school record time of 6:56.13, taking 2.91 seconds off the previous record.

In the morning for the women, senior Bailey Gold (Berkeley Heights, N.J. / Governor Livingston) broke her own school record in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 56.79 and placed second for the finals session. Gold took 0.36 off her previous record. The Judges also had 13 individual swims qualify for the finals. At night, first-year Becca Kaplan (Fairfax, Va. / Robinson Secondary School) was the top finisher in the 200-yard individual medley, finishing 21st with a time of 2:16.18. In the 50-yard freestyle, senior Ema Rennie (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Scioto) won the event and broke her own school record in the process with a time of 23.97, taking 0.04 off the record. In the 500-yard freestyle, first-years Nicole Caruso (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood High School) and Jenna Wild (Evanston, Ill. / Evanston Township High School) finished seventh and ninth respectively with Caruso finishing with the top time of 5:11.93. In the 200-yard breaststroke, first-year D'Arcy Anselmi (Pearl River, N.Y. / Pearl River High School) finished in 14th place with a time of 2:40.68. Following up her school record in the morning, Gold finished fourth in the 100-yard butterfly at night with a time of 57.42. The Judges set school records in both of their relays tonight. To start the night with the 200-yard medley relay, junior Monica Iizuka (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham), Kaplan, Gold, and Rennie finished third and finished with a time of 1:46.84, taking six tenths of a second off the previous record. To end the night with the 800-yard freestyle relay, sophomore Chloe Gonzalez (Miami Beach, Fla. / Miami Beach Senior High School), Wild, Caruso, and Gold finished second with a time of 7:52.31, taking 0.35 off the previous record.

The Judges are back in action tomorrow with Day Two of the Gompei Invitational with Prelims starting at 9 AM and finals starting at 6 PM.