THE FAST Ateneo Swimming Team (FAST) closed out the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Swimming tournament in the last day of competition yesterday, reestablishing their hold over the collegiate swimming throne.

With the women finally taking back the gold that eluded them last season, the Blue and Lady Eagles pulled out all the stops to ensure a complete Ateneo victory, recapturing the crowns as kings and queens of collegiate pool.

The men’s team cruised to another victory, ending 236 points ahead of De La Salle University (DLSU) to snag a 4-peat title, while the women’s team reclaimed the crown from the University of the Philippines (UP) with a firm 46-point lead over the Fighting Maroons.

Blue Eagles

For the frontrunner Blue Eagles, a guaranteed championship had already been on the horizon entering the final day with a tremendous 167-point advantage. Despite the gap in points, the men’s team did not rest on their laurels but instead powered on to set the bar higher, breaking records and bagging as many medals as possible on their way to the gold.

The opening of Day 4 saw a synchronized performance by rookies Aki Cariño and Miguel Barlisan who both clocked in at 28.31 in a rare event that gave both Eagles silver medals for the men’s 50m backstroke. Senior Brandon Sing was just four hundredths of a second behind at 28.71 to place 5th in the event.

Setting the bar even higher, Team Captain Aldo Batungbacal bested his old UAAP 200m breastroke record by more than two seconds with a time of 2:20.34 in the finals. Reminiscent of competitions past, the captain was accompanied at the podium for the third time by fellow veteran Eagles Paolo Mutuc and Giancarlo Silva, who clocked in at 2:25.83 and 27.84, respectively, for the silver and bronze. Steven Tiu placed 6th at 2:35.81 in the same event to add even more points to the Blue Eagles’ cause.

Olympic swimmer Jessie Lacuna and last season’s Rookie of the Year (ROY) Miguel Arellano made waves in the final day of the tournament, blowing the competition out of the water with another stellar performance in the pool. Lacuna clocked in at 2:02.57 in the men’s 200m butterfly finals to take top spot, while Arellano stood along his fellow Eagle at the podium after popping up at 2:14.16 and bagging the bronze.

The new recruits starred again, putting on a show in the 50m freestyle finals, as Miguel Barlisan secured the gold medal at 23.83 and Drei Buhain took the bronze at 24.15. Sophomore Jethro Chua was only shortly behind his FAST teammates, timing a 24.35 finish to place 5th in the event.

For the final men’s event, the 4x100m medley relay, Aki Cariño, Carlo Silva, Miguel Arellano, and Drei Buhain held a dominant lead from start to finish, scoring the gold at 4:03.98, just a fraction of a second short of the UAAP record.

Lady Eagles

For the ladies of FAST, the road to redemption was not as straightforward, putting Ateneo on a roller coaster ride to the championship. Sacrifice, teamwork, and heart served as the shield that protected their 29-point lead from UP entering the final day, as both schools were on a neck-and-neck sprint towards the gold. But through poise, determination, and speed, the women’s team blossomed in the pressure cooker of a race to conquer the competition and reestablish their former glory.

Team Captain Julia Balanag, Courtney Gray, Ariana Herranz, and Andrea Ngui all booked spots in the finals for the 50m backstroke, guaranteeing important points for their title bid. Gray’s gold medal swim at 30.63 tied the UAAP record, while Herranz’s finish at 31.13 gave her the silver at only a half-second behind. Ngui (32.22) and Balanag (32.38) rounded out the first event in 5th and 6th place to further the deficit in Ateneo’s advantage.

Still in the fight, UP sent a few warning shots in the women’s 200m breaststroke,  securing four out of the top five places in the finals, though Raegan Gavino’s bronze finish (2:52.38) and Jazmin Chua’s sixth place rank at 2:57.68 tallied enough points to keep the Fighting Maroons at bay. This duo’s inspiring performance also proved to be a catalyst for FAST, who dominated the succeeding events.

Gavino took the lanes again in the 200m butterfly, this time alongside Chloe Daos and Kristine Santos. Daos won the gold in convincing fashion with a time of 2:22.61, three seconds ahead of the pack. Gavino joined Daos on the podium with another bronze, coming in at 2:30.01, while Kristine Santos followed in 4th at 2:34.26.

Andrea Ngui pulled FAST even closer to the elusive championship as she sped to gold in the 50m freestyle, clocking a 27.22 finish. Hannah Dato (28.31) and Hannah Castaneda (29.18) locked up 5th and 6th to further extend their first place position heading into the final event.

Ariana Herranz’s final swim in Blue and White kicked off the Lady Tankers’ 4×100 medley relay. Her signature backstroke gave her teammates a decent cushion to work with, though UP slowly edged out a lead in the breaststroke and butterfly segments against Jazmin Chua and Kristine Santos. Shayn Ting attempted a comeback in the freestyle but fell short, leaving Ateneo to settle for the silver with a time of 4:46.46.

A dynasty rebuilt

The day’s efforts embodied FAST’s motto to be the bar and set the standard for the rest of the competition. Despite UP’s incentive to catch them on the scoreboard, Ateneo’s stellar performance stretched the lead from 29 to 46 points to change the championship colors in the Women’s division.

The women’s triumph accompanied the men’s 4-peat title run to crown FAST the undisputed kings and queens of collegiate swimming. The plaudits did not end there as Miguel Barlisan was awarded Rookie of the Year (ROY) and Jessie Lacuna was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the third time in the men’s division. For her record-smashing heroics and the promise she showed for the future, Chloe Daos took home both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors in the women’s division.

With younger members of the team serving as stars for the bright future ahead and veterans guiding their direction through a culture of excellence, FAST will be a force for years to come.

“Personally, it was a goal of mine to set the standard high so that the others can follow, and lucky for me, they went above the expectations,” shared men’s team captain Aldo Batungbacal. “If you work hard enough, you’ll always get something better, so just work hard and be the bar.”

After the ups and downs, the sacrifice and the struggles, and ultimately, success at the end of the tournament, both teams complete a fulfilling season as champions. Despite entering the season with different motivations, both the men’s and women’s team found joint success in revelling in the experience of competing together and for each other.

Women’s team captain Julia Balanag reflected on this, “This year we were just really enjoying the competition, no matter what happened. All the victories, all the losses we shared those moments together as one team.”