Competing in an in-person intersquad meet for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the men’s and women’s Judges came out on top against crosstown rivals, National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Bentley Falcons. 

Combined, the Judges edged out the Falcons 209 to 189, with Brandeis winning 13 events, compared to 10 from Bentley. 

Men’s Swimming 

The Judges defeated the Falcons 119 to 87, winning eight events, compared to the Falcons four. Brandeis also had five second place finishes and six third place finishes. 

Rookie Sam Dienstag ’24 was undefeated in all of his events, placing first in the 200 yard freestyle, 500 yard freestyle and 200 yard freestyle relay. Dienstag and fellow rookie Ido Petel ’24 were the top two finishers in the 200 yard freestyle race, with Dienstag just edging out Petel 1:41.43 to 1:42.61. Both finished almost 10 seconds before the third place finisher from Bentley. 

Dienstag and Petel were also the top finishers in the longest event of the day, the 500 yard freestyle. Dienstag placed first with a time of 4:32.94, beating Petel by over 20 seconds, who finished in second at 4:56.24.

The pair teamed up for the last race of the day with Benton Ferebee ’22 and rookie George Zhu ’24, making up the Brandeis “A” team, to win the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.70. Rookies Dylan Levy ’24 and Ryan Schulken ’24, along with Brendon Lu ’22 and Sean Riordan ’22, the Brandeis “B” team, placed third at 1:35.45, while the Brandeis “C” team of Benjamin Francis ’21, Dean Whyte ’23 and rookies Maor Shir ’24 and Leone Kisler ’24 placed fourth with a time of 1:36.81.

Ferebee and Zhu, along with Lu and rookie Austin Shih ’24 as part of the Brandeis “A” team, won the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:35.26, beating the Bentley “A” quad by seven tenths of a second.

Zhu also took first in the 50 yard freestyle, beating out Bentley’s Paul Homorodean by just over a second with a time of 21.10. Ferebee finished fourth with a time of 22.83, while Levy finished seventh at 23.93. Ferebee also had a first place finish in individual competition, dominating the 100 yard back, finishing first with a time of 53.72, almost three seconds faster than second place finisher, Oscar Chang from Bentley. Riordan finished fourth with a time of 59.72, followed by Francis who finished fifth with a time of 1:00.70.

Shir and the Falcon’s Zach Papsco ’22 tied for first place in the 100 yard butterfly with a time of 53.10. Riordan and Francis finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 56.21 and 57.58. Lu topped the competition in the 100 yard breaststroke, finishing first with a time of 58.88. Rookie Seth Shin ’24 finished in third with a time of 1:02.57. 

Anthony Vizental from Bentley was top finisher in the 200 yard IM, finishing just over three seconds faster than A. Shih, who finished second with a time of 2:03.92. S. Shih finished after A. Shih with a time of 2:06.23, good for third place in the race. Mark Zoda from Bentley edged out Zhu by six hundredths of a second for first place, with Zhu finishing at 48.21. Schulken placed third with a time of 50.49. Shih finished second in the 100 yard IM in 56.38, just losing to Alec Lanza of Bentley who swam a 55.84. Shin finished right behind Shih in 57.84, placing third. 

Women’s Swimming 

The Judges defeated the Falcons 102 to 90, winning six events, compared to the Falcons five. Brandeis also had seven second place finishes and four third place finishes. 

Bailey Gold ’23 took home the gold in three of her four events: the 200 yard butterfly, 100 yard freestyle and 200 yard freestyle relay. Gold took first in the 200 yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.79, finishing almost nine seconds before second place finisher, Rona Mejiritski from Bentley. Gold also finished first in the 100 yard freestyle with a time of 54.01, edging out Kate Galvin from Bentley by a second. Gazelle Umbay ’22 finished fourth with a time of 59.56.

Gold teamed up with Umbay, rookie Maya Haubrich ’24 and Ema Rennie ’23 as part of the Brandeis “A” team that placed first in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.94, edging out Bentley A by almost 3 seconds. The Brandeis “B” team of rookie Abbie Murphy ’24, Becky Goodfellow ’23, Aria Smith ’23 and Abbie Etzweiler ’22 finished fourth at 1:51.39, while Brandeis “C” team of rookie Alex Pickett ’24, Francesca Sirignano ’23, Gabriela Mendoza ’22 and Olivia Stebbins ’22 finished fifth at 1:58.39. 

Rennie also had an individual win in the 50 yard freestyle sprint, finishing in 24.80. Haubrich finished third with a time of 26.59. Smith also finished first in the 100 yard IM with a time of 1:06.01.

The Brandeis “A” team of Haubrich, Murphy, Umbay and Gold placed second in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:53.13, narrowly losing to the Bentley “A” team by less than half a second.

Murphy had another two podium finishes in the 200 yard freestyle and 100 yard breaststroke. She finished in second with a time of 1:11.13, followed by Stebbins who finished third at 1:13.65. Murphy was also the top finisher for the Judges in the 200 yard freestyle, placing third at 2:03.81, six tenths of a second away from second place finish. 

Smith finished second in the 200 yard IM at 2:20.32, less than a second slower than first place Emily Blatt from Bentley. Haubrich also had a second place finish in the 100 yard backstroke, with a time of 1:02.34. Goodfellow finished third at 1:07.15. 

Etzweiler finished third in the longest event of the day, the 500 yard freestyle, with a time of 5:52.43. Rebecka Sokoloff ’22 finished fourth with a time of 6:06.51, just edging out Umbay who finished fifth with a time of 6:06.66. Mendoza finished sixth at 6:19.33.