The Brandeis swimming and diving team finished 10th place in the three-day Gompei Invitational, hosted by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). Despite their 10th place finish, the Judges showed the impressive depth of their team and were competing against Division I and Division II teams. Brandeis finished with 555.5 points on the first day, 1161 points on the second, and 1645 points on the final day.
The Judges displayed the size of their team in the invitational with 29 different swimmers competing. Tamir Zitelny ’20 led the Judges throughout the weekend gaining a first place finish in the men’s 100-yard freestyle event, giving the Judges a sole podium finish on day one. He finished the weekend with over 350 points for the Judges. For the women’s team, Bailey Gold ’23 led the team with 126 points on day one, 125 on day two and 109 on day three, finishing as the Judges’ leading scorer on all three days.
On day one, James Barno ’23 finished with the second most points for the men’s team, with 138. Barno and Zitelny were joined by Brendon Lu ’22 and Daniel Wohl ’21 in the men’s 200-yard medley relay and finished in ninth place. Lu also finished seventh in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke event. Richard Selznick ’21 had an individual top-ten finish securing seventh place in the men’s 1650-yard freestyle race.
Gold contributed in multiple relay races as well as a sixth place finish in the women’s 100-yard butterfly event. Ema Rennie ‘23 also had an impressive day one with a seventh place finish in the women’s 50-yard freestyle event. Audrey Kim ’21 and Olivia Stebbins ‘22 as well as Rennie and Gold finished ninth in the 200-yard medley relay. Overall, the Judges ended day one in 10th place.
On day two of the Gompei Invitational, the Judges remained in 10th place at the end of competition. Yet again, Zitelny and Gold led the team with impressive finishes. On the women’s side Gold, Kim, Rennie and Uajda Musaku ’21 placed eighth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The women’s team also finished 10th in the 400-yard medley comprised of Kim, Stebbins, Gold and Musaku.
For the men’s team, Selznick and Lu both had impressive finishes in the 400-yard individual medley, finishing fifth and eighth respectively. The men’s team also boasted two top-ten finishes in their relay teams. Marcelo Ohno-Machado ’21, Tom Alger ’20, Wohl and Zitelny finished in sixth place in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Barno, Zitelny, Lu and Wohl teamed up to earn a seventh place finish in the 400-yard medley relay.
Finally, on day three of competition, Gold again led the team by earning an impressive third place finish in the 200-yard butterfly. Natalya Wozab ’20 also earned a top-ten finish, finishing ninth in the 100-yard medley. Stebbins came in tenth in the 50-yard backstroke. The women also had an eighth place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay which was swam by, Musaku, Kim, Gold and Rennie.
On the men’s side, Wohl was the leader on day three with 100 points. He finished ninth in the 100-yard freestyle and 13th in the 500-yard freestyle. Selznick also finished 14th in the 500-yard freestyle. Barno also had an impressive fifth place finish in the 200-yard backstroke. Finally the men’s relay team, consisting of Wohl, Selznick, Zitelny and Ohno-Machado, finished eighth in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Despite their 10th place finish, the Judges boasted impressive personal records. Gold secured two new records with a time of 24.57 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle and a time of 58.18 seconds in the 100-yard butterfly. Zitelny also set new records in the 50-yard butterfly with a time of 22.94 seconds. Finally, Rennie set a new record with a time of 26.81 seconds in the 50-yard butterfly.
The Judges will face Trinity College at home on Saturday, Jan. 11, in the Linsey Pool.
