DESPITE A grueling 10-hour delay, the men and women of the FAST Ateneo Swimming team managed to conquer the waters in a dominant first day showing in the University Athletic Association of the Philippine (UAAP) Season 82 Swimming Tournament on October 17, at Trace College, Los Baños. The Women’s team topped the standings with a total of 101 points, while the Men’s team sit just four points off first-placed De La Salle University (DLSU).
Due to mismanagement of the chlorine levels in the pool, the morning’s preliminary events were scrapped and all swimmers competed in the finals. The Blue and Lady Eagles had no choice but to suit up and brave through the raised stakes, and they got the job done. The Women’s team claimed four gold medals and a bronze finish, while the Men’s team won one gold and three silver medals.
In the 200m Medley Relay, the Lady Eagles bested the competition and won first place with their crew of Courtney Gray, Dara Carreon, Kristine Santos, and Marj Manguiat with a time of (2:08.15). Blue Eagles Aki Cariño, Josh Taleon, Drew Magbag, and Drei Buhain teamed up to bag a second place finish after clocking in at (1:50.14), just one second behind DLSU.
In the 100m Freestyle, Ateneo’s former Rookie of the Year Miguel Barlisan claimed silver after falling just a hundredth of a second (52.08) behind La Salle’s ace, Sacho Illustre. Buhain placed fourth with a time of (53.54). In the women’s division, Chloe Daos snagged gold for the Blue and White after marking (59.54), while senior Andrea Ngui tied with University of the Philippine’s Regina Castrillo at third (1:00.36).
Ateneo’s Ianiko Limfilipino added more hardware to his collection in the Men’s 200 Individual Medley, bagging the gold with a time of (2:13.54), while teammate Mark Rotoni managed a fifth place finish (2:16.20). For the ladies, Ronalyn Lalimo fell one place short of a podium finish at (2:34.36), followed by Raegan Gavino and Nirel Ibarra placing sixth (2:35.63) and seventh (2:36.42), respectively.
Limfilipino showed his prowess once more in the 800m freestyle event. The sophomore cruised to a silver finish at (9:01.51), delivering much needed points for his team. On the other hand, four Lady Eagles finished in the top eight to further distance themselves from the pack in the overall team standings. Daos locked down another gold at (9:28.89), finishing over 24 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Gavino also sealed a podium finish, recording a time of (9:54.31) to take the bronze. Portia Doragos followed (10:00.43) in fifth, while senior Bea Batungbacal rounded out the points in eighth place (10:31.87).
To close out the day, Magbag, Taleon, Justin Sy and Jethro Chua hit the lanes for the 800m freestyle relay and secured a fourth place finish (8:48.87). The four-woman squad of Suzanne Himor, Gavino, Gray and Doragos closed out on a high note. They finished roughly 15 seconds ahead of their closest competition (9:17.41) en route to another first-place finish for the Lady Eagles.
The FAST Ateneo Swimming Team hopes to continue their title contention on Day 2 of the UAAP Season 82 Swimming Tournament on Friday, October 18 at Trace College, Los Baños.
