WORCESTER, Mass. – The Brandeis swim and dive team ended their midseason championship meet today at WPI. The Judges set five team records and had three individual top three finishes on the day. At the end of the meet, the combined team finished sixth out of 10 with 3519 points.
In the morning for the women, there were two records set. Senior Bailey Gold (Berkeley Heights, N.J. / Governor Livingston) broke her own 200-yard butterfly record, placing second for finals with a time of 2:06.44, while senior Ema Rennie (Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Scioto) broke her own 100-yard freestyle record, placing third for finals with a time of 52.80. The Judges had 21 individual swims at finals. In the evening, first-year Nicole Caruso (Brentwood, Tenn. / Ravenwood High School) was the top finisher in the 1650-yard freestyle, finishing seventh with a time of 17:51.24. In the 200-yard backstroke, junior Monica Iizuka (Chatham, N.J. / Chatham) had her third backstroke A final of the meet, finishing sixth with a time of 2:10.32. Sophomore Anastasia Bekou (Limassol, Cyprus / Laniteio Lyceum) was the top finisher in the 100-yard individual medley, finishing fifth with a time of 1:02.97. Gold continued her dominance in the 200-yard butterfly, setting another school record and finishing second with a time of 2:05.99. In the 100-yard freestyle, Rennie finished in 53.01, a time good enough for fifth place. In the 50-yard breaststroke, first-year Audrey Teo (Palo Alto, Calif. / Palo Alto High School) tied for sixth place with a time of 31.86. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Gold, Iizuka, and Rennie teamed up with sophomore Chloe Gonzalez (Miami Beach, Fla. / Miami Beach Senior High School) to finish fourth in a school record time of 3:35.97, beating the previous record by 2.01 seconds.
In the morning for the men, the Judges had five A final qualifiers. First-year Eric Xiao (College Station, Texas / AM Consolidated High School) qualified for two, finishing seventh in the 100-yard freestyle and fourth in the 50-yard breaststroke. The Judges had 16 individual swims at finals. In the evening, junior Sam Dienstag (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier) won the 1650 freestyle, breaking his own school record in a time of 15:27.32. In the 200-yard backstroke, sophomore Tal Spector (Phoenix, Ariz. / Herberger Young Scholars Academy) was the top finisher, placing 16th with a time of 2:02.79. Sophomore Andrew Ngo (San Gabriel, Calif. / Gabrielino) was the top finisher in the 100-yard individual medley, finishing seventh with a time of 53.77. In the 200-yard butterfly, first-year Sam Bundy (Charlotte, N.C. / Ardrey Kell High School) was the top finisher, placing 10th with a time of 2:00.10. In the 100-yard freestyle, Xiao stayed in seventh place, but improved his time by 0.02 seconds, finishing in 47.79 seconds. Xiao pulled a tough double with the 50-yard breaststroke, inching closer to the school record and moving up to third with a time of 27.14. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Dienstag, Ngo, and Xiao teamed up with first-year Ben Lee (Upton, Mass. / Nipmuc Regional High School) to finish third with a time of 3:10.31.
The Judges return to action after the New Year when they take on Keene State and Bridgewater State in a tri-meet on Saturday, January 21st at 1 PM.