Since the fall semester, the Judges’ swim & dive teams have competed in three meets. They first competed in the three-day Gompei Invitational meet at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during the weekend of Dec. 7, then the women hosted Stonehill College on Jan. 15 to open up their 2025 season, and then both teams competed in a tri-meet at Keene State University along with Bridgewater State University.
On the first day of the Gompei Invitational, the Judges were in sixth place. On the second day they were in seventh place, and on the final day they were in sixth place. For competing against several other teams, this placement was exciting for the Judges.
Top performers at this meet on the women’s side were Chloe Gonzalez ’25, who placed sixth in the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 57.80 seconds. This was the second-fastest time in this event in Brandeis Swim & Dive history. Her 10th-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle was also the third fastest in school history. Also placing well for the women was Anastasia Bekou ’25 who earned a top-10 finish in the 50-yard backstroke. Additionally, Sophia Pulaski ’27 swam the seventh-fastest time in program history in the 50-yard fly.
On the men’s side, Eric Xiao ’26 swam just a hundredth of a second faster than classmate Benjamin Lee ’26 to establish a new school record of 52.60 seconds in the 100-yard individual medley. Another notable performance on the men’s side was Sam Bundy ’26 who placed third in the mile freestyle with a time of 16:44.57, just three seconds away from second place.
Next, the women’s team hosted the Stonehill College Skyhawks in a sprint meet.
Exceptional performances for the women during this meet included Bekou’s ’25 pair of second place finishes and a third place in the 50-yard backstroke, 50-yard butterfly and 100-yard individual medley, respectively. Gonzalez ’25 also had a second place finish in the 50-yard freestyle. Lastly, Rebecca Kaplan ’26 placed fourth in the 50-yard breaststroke, which was the highest any Judge placed in this event.
In the Judges’ most recent meet, they swam against both Keene State and Bridgewater State University. The Judges picked up a pair of wins from this meet as they defeated each team and won all but five of the meet’s 32 events. This was a big day for the Judges, with many exciting performances and personal bests.
On the women’s side, Jenna Wild ’26 led the way as she won three individual events: the 100-yard freestyle, the 100 free and the 500 free. Next, Kaplan ’26 won two individual events: the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke. She also placed second in the 1000-free behind Wild ’26. Gonzalez ’25 was another double winner as she captured the gold in the 200 free and 50 free. Bekou ’25 then went on to win both backstroke events. Eva Parson ’25 won the 50-yard breaststroke, and lastly the Judges won both relays. Bekou ’25, Kaplan ’26, Gonzalez ’25 and Wild ’26 won the 200 medley, while Samantha Slater ’26, Bekou ’25, Audrey Teo ’26 and Gonzalez ’25 took the 200 free relay.
On the men’s side, Bundy ’26 won both the 1000 free and 200 butterfly, Lee ’26 won the 200 backstroke and 200 free, Xiao ’26 took the 50 breaststroke and 100 free, Peter Mou ’28 won the 50 free and 500 free, Riley Pasicaran ’27 won the 50 backstroke, Daniyal Nabi ’28 took the 200 breaststroke, and the relays were both won by the Judges. Pasicaran ’27, Lee ’26, Xiao ’26, and Mou ’28 combined to take the 200 medley, while Xiao ’26, Solomon Skelton-Harris ’26, Lee ’26 and Mou ’28 won the 200 free.
Looking ahead, the Judges will host the Clark University Cougars in a home meet this Saturday, Jan. 25 at two p.m. After this final dual meet, the Judges will travel to Atlanta, GA for the University Athletic Association (UAA) four-day Championship meet. The first day of this competition will be on Feb. 12. To stay in touch with your swimmer-Judges, check out the Brandeis Athletics webpage or the social media accounts.
