DOMINATING THE waters once again, the Ateneo Men’s Swimming Team clinched a number of medals in the individual events of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Men’s Swimming Tournament. In total, the Blue Eagles prevailed with eight medals in both individual and group events, earlier today, at the Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Pool in the City of Manila.

Seasoned veteran Rafael Barretto led Ateneo in the Men’s 200-meter Freestyle to grab second place (1:56.64). Juan Marco Daos followed him in third place after his 1:56.75 second performance in the same event, while Joshua del Rio clocked in with 1:59.78 finishing in sixth place. 

In the Men’s 100-meter Breaststroke event, Rafael Isip notched second place in 1:06.20 seconds. In the same event, Marco Tirol and Justin Cheng finished fourth (1:06.74) and fifth (1:07.32), respectively. However, Ian Limfilipino was disqualified from the event due to a false start, docking in eighth place.

Barretto and Philip Santos were the lone Blue Eagles competing in the 50-meter Butterfly and the 100-meter Backstroke events, respectively. Barretto’s 25.17-second performance secured him a gold medal, while Santos came in second place with a recorded time of 1:00.23. 

Meanwhile in the Men’s 400-meter Medley, Santos continued to dominate as he sped past his opponents tallying a 4:44.08 record with del Rio not far behind, clocking in at 4:50.05 to finish in third place. In the same event, Limfilipino and Daos finished seventh (4:56.02) and eighth (5:02.71), respectively.

Concluding the third day with the 4×50-meter Freestyle relay, the Blue Eagles consisting of Charles Ticbaen, Marco Austriaco, Isip, and Tirol clinched the bronze medal at 1:40.91.

Hoping to win their seventh-straight championship, the Blue Eagles will close out the tournament tomorrow, November 27, starting at 8:30 AM for the preliminary heat at the Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Pool in the City of Manila.