Brandeis swimming faced off against division one opponent, Boston College. BC came out on top , defeating the Brandeis men 112-141 and the women 117-141. Nonetheless, the Judges came in undaunted and left with a similar feeling. As co-captain Matt Lerman 07 explained, We were really excited, this was a big meet for us considering that it was a division I team and the first meet, I think everyone rose up and did well.
Picking up wins for the Judges were co-captain Matt Lerman 07, taking the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.14, and Harold Grossman 07 who finished first in the 200 yard freestyle. The crowning moments for the mens side came in the 100 yard butterfly;
led by rookie Jeff Liu 10, the Judges swept first through third place. Lerman later led a sweep in the 200 yard breaststroke and both the A and B 400 yard freestyle relay squads overpowered the Eagles squads.
In her first collegiate match-up, Hollis Vilray '10 took the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke and the individual medley. In the 200 yard breaststroke the women took first through third place with fellow rookie Rachel Sawiki 10 finishing nearly four seconds behind Vilray. The women finished off the match as the A squad for the 400 yard freestyle relay, comprised of three freshman (Donna Kremer 10, Siobhan Lyons 10, and Dasha Hentoff 10) took first place. Kremer also provided the only other individual win for the womens side, taking the 50 yard freestyle, .39 seconds ahead of teammate and runner up Charlotte Rea 08.
After the match, first year coach Marshall Goldman, class of 03, was exceptionally excited about the performance of the freshmen swimmers, especially Liu and Vilray. Vilray in particular, he felt, should definitely break at least two records this year. Goldman also went over what needed to change and what to expect.
From a swimming point of view, we have turning issues. Our enthusiasm will pick up, it is hard to keep enthusiasm up against a D-1 power but once we get into our rivalries like Bentley and Babason, it wont even be a question.
The Judges will compete next on October 21 at Brandeis then hit the road on the 28th to take on Keene State College.
