The Ateneo men’s and women’s swimming teams continued their race towards a third consecutive crown with another medal haul on Saturday, October 22 at the Rizal Memorial Swimming Complex. The second day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 Swimming tournament saw Ateneo FAST maintain their position at the top of the tables in both the men’s and women’s divisions with 14 medals knocked in across five events to bump the team score up to 472 points.
Coming off a showstopping performance on the opening day, FAST managed keep up the pace in the pool, as the blue tankers steered clear of any adversaries by nearly doubling their tally to a whopping 262 points, while the women increased their own markers to 210 points, trailed closely by the University of the Philippines (UP) at 189.
FAST’s aquatic supremacy shone brightly throughout the day, with strong team and individual performances from rookie and veteran Eagles serving as the compass to victory. Captains Hannah Dato and Axel Ngui opened the bank for the team, topping the podium in the men’s and women’s 400m freestyle to give FAST their first golds of the afternoon. Rookie Jethro Chua also snagged the silver just six seconds behind Ngui at (4:13.25), putting another Blue Eagle on the podium to contribute to the team’s overall collection.
Just seven-hundredths of a second separated juniors Paolo Mutuc and Giancarlo Silva in the 50m breaststroke finals, with Mutuc grabbing the silver at (29.89s) and Silva following for the bronze at (29.96s). Meanwhile in the women’s division, Ramona Datu took the silver in the same event, clocking in at (36.02s) for the finish.
Two-time Most Valuable Player Jessie Lacuna made a splash as well, winning first place in the 100m butterfly at (56.29s), while Dato led the charge for the Lady Eagles and added another personal gold in the same event at (1:04.63), and veteran Romina Gavino timed in at (1:07.90) for the bronze.
The tankers took two out of three spots on the podium in the men’s 200m backstroke as Getty Reyes and Brandon Sing raced valiantly for a comeback to take first and second place, timing at (2:11.84) and (2:14.41), respectively. Ariana Herranz ensured that the Blue and White would make its presence felt in the ladies’ side of the competition, dominating the women’s 200m backstroke at (2:27.04).
However, the most defining moment among the day’s events was the 4x100m freestyle relay, which saw the fighting spirit of the Atenean athlete prevail in both victory and defeat.
Justin Sy, Brandon Sing, Paolo Mutuc, and Jethro Chua composed the men’s team for the relay and trailed frontrunners UP closely throughout the freestyle race. But despite the setback in distance, anchor swimmer Jethro Chua sparked a comeback, overcoming the lead of UP’s final swimmer in the dying seconds of the event for a golden record-breaking finish.
Chua’s heroics in the pool broke the benchmark set by Mutuc, Sing, Sy, and Getty Reyes in Season 79, with the rookie’s feat establishing a new league best at (3:39.80), nearly four seconds faster than his teammates’ previous record of (3:43.54).
A similar miracle nearly occurred on the women’s side of the competition, as Shayn Ting, Shaye Uy, Hannah Castaneda, and Andee Torres almost pulled off the same feat in the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay finals.
Neck and neck with rivals UP throughout the relay, the Lady Eagles led a heartfelt team effort for the coveted gold from start to end, but the final push from anchor swimmer Andee Torres’ fell just one second behind the finish UP’s Monica Padilla, leaving the ladies to settle for a well-deserved silver at (4:20.36)
The Blue and Lady Eagles will shine once again in the pool on Sunday, October 23 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
