Brandeis swimming and diving competed in the 2022 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships at Emory University from Feb. 10 to Feb. 12. Both teams finished in eighth place, the men with 417 points and the women with 414.5 points. The Judges stayed in eighth place on all three days of the competition.
Day three
On the women’s side, Ema Rennie ’23 placed 22nd in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 53.19, setting a new school record. In the 200-yard backstroke Monica Iizuka ’24 finished 20th with a time of 2:07.58, setting a new school record, which she best by 0.47 seconds. Maya Haubrich ’24 finished 22nd with a time of 2:09.66.
Bailey Gold ’23 placed 10th in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:06.89; this was the best finish the women had in the competition. In the 400 freestyle relay, Gold, Chloe Gonzalez ’25, Iizuka and Rennie finished 8th with a time of 3:39.87.
On the men’s side, Sam Dienstag ’24 placed sixth in the 1650-yard freestyle, with a 15:34.66. Dienstag beat his own school record by 10.16 seconds. In the 200-yard backstroke, James Barno ’23 finished 24th with a time of 1:58.59.
Brendon Lu ’22 finished 17th in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:03.88; Lu broke the school record for the event. In the 200-yard butterfly, Tal Spector ’25 finished 24th with a time of 1:55.52. The 400-yard freestyle relay, Barno, Dienstag, Benton Ferebee ’22 and Lu placed eighth with a time of 3:12.25.
Day two
On the women’s side, Gold placed 14th in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 57.56 seconds. Olivia Stebbins ’22 placed 23rd in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.25. In the 200 yard medley, Gold, Iizuka, Rennie and Stebbins placed sixth with a time of 1:48.46.
In the 100-yard backstroke, Ferebee placed 16th with a time of 52.19 seconds. Lu placed 21st in the 100 breaststroke, with a time of 57.71. In the 100 butterfly, Barno placed 20th with a time of 50.66. In the men’s 200 yard medley Barno, Dienstag, Ferebee and Lu placed ninth with a time of 1:34.25. The Judges finished the day with 316 points.
Day one
On the women’s side, in the 50 yard freestyle, Rennie placed 13th, making the ‘B’ finals with a time of 24.07. She beat her own school record for the event; Iizuka placed 29th in it, with a time of 24.76. In the 500 yard freestyle, Haubrich placed 34th with a time of 5:22.98. Anastasia Bekou ’25 placed 41st in the women’s 200 individual medley. In the 200-yard free relay Gold, Gonzalez, Iizuka and Rennie placed 10th with a time of 1:38.96.
On the men’s side, Dienstag placed eighth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:30.95; he broke his own school record. In the 200 freestyle relay, Barno, Dienstag, Ferebee and Andrew Ngo ’25 placed 11th with a time of 1:27.15. Ferebee came in 37th in the men’s 50 freestyle, with a time of 22.04, while Ngo placed 43rd in the men’s 200 IM. The Judges finished the day with 158 points.
Following his performance at the UAAs, Dienstag will be going to the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis, which starts on Wednesday, March 16. He will compete in the 500 yard freestyle and the 1,650 yard freestyle; in the UAAs he was ranked 26th in the 500 yard and 11th in the 1,650 yard. According to a Brandeis Judges article, Dienstag is the first Brandeis swimmer to compete at NCAA since 2009.
