ATLANTA, Ga. – The Brandeis swim and dive teams finished up the UAA Championship meet today at Emory University. The Judges broke two more records on the night, ending the meet with a total of 11 new marks set. The men came in eighth place with a total of 399 points, while the women also came in eighth place with a total of 387 points.
On the men's side, junior Sam Dienstag (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) started off the night swimming in the A final of the 1650-yard freestyle. Dienstag placed third in a school record time of 15:25.93. The first 1000 of his race also broke the school record by 1.06 seconds. Dienstag's third place finish is the first All-UAA placement for Brandeis since 2005. The night continued with sophomore Tal Spector (Phoenix, Ariz. / Herberger Young Scholars Academy) swimming in the C final of the 200-yard butterfly where he finished 24th with a time of 2:00.64. Fellow sophomore Andrew Ngo (San Gabriel, Calif. / Gabrielino) competed in the C final of the 200-yard breaststroke, placing 24th with a time of 2:07.67. Spector swam again, but this time was joined by first-year Sam Bundy (Charlotte, N.C. / Ardrey Kell High School) for the 200-yard butterfly. Spector finished 23rd with a time of 1:55.85, while Bundy finished 24th with a time of 1:59.07. To end the meet, Ngo was joined by senior Benton Ferebee (Memphis, Tenn. / Memphis University School) and first-years Benjamin Lee (Upton, Mass. / Nipmuc Regional High School) and Solomon Skelton-Harris (Golden Valley, Minn. / Robbinsdale Armstrong High) for the 400-yard freestyle relay. This team got eighth place with a time of 3:10.31.
On the women's side, sophomore Chloe Gonzalez (Miami Beach, Fla. / Miami Beach Senior High School) swam in the 100-yard freestyle C final, placing 23rd with a time of 53.66. Senior Bailey Gold (Berkeley Heights, N.J. / Governor Livingston) swam in the only A final of the meet for the women's team, finishing seventh in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.86. Gold and Gonzalez later teamed up with junior Monica Iizuka (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) and first-year Nicole Caruso (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood High School) in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The group finished eighth with a time of 3:36.79.
Dienstag will compete in the NCAA Division III Championship meet in Greensboro, N.C. March 15-18. He is currently seeded 28th in the 200-yard freestyle, sixth in the 500-yard freestyle, and fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle.