*
Though the men's and women's swimming and diving teams have experienced their growing pains, the squads took a step in the right direction last weekend in their meet at Trinity College.
*
"As a team, we rallied together," said David Lazarovich '16, who placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke. "We saw some of our most impressive times of the season. As we get closer to the University Athletic Association championships, we're having more intense practices, which showed on Saturday."
*
Following an impressive victory in the men's 100-yard freestyle, Brian Luk '16 completed a sweep of the three freestyle sprints. Luk wrapped up his first 50 yards in 23.8 seconds, leaving all but one competitor in the dust. He finished in 49.24 seconds, also standing as the only competitor who completed the race in less than 50 seconds.
*
His first victory of the triplet came in the 200-yard freestyle. Luk, who earned 38 of the Judges' 107 points, first swam the 200-yard freestyle, handily winning by five seconds. Luk completed the race in one minute and 50 seconds.
*
Despite impressive performances in the early going, Luk finished on an even stronger note in the later stages of the meet. Eight events later, he won the 50-yard freestyle in 22.6 seconds. As opposed to the aforementioned 200-yard freestyle, this race was more of a challenge for Luk, who was neck-and-neck with Trinity College senior John Feminella. Luk, the freshman, defeated the senior in the end by one-quarter of a second.
*
Finally, in one leg of the 200-yard freestyle relay, Luk displayed his most impressive performance, bolting across the pool and back in an electrifying 21.83 seconds.
*
While Luk had noteworthy performances, he was not the only Judge who had a field day. Teammate Max Fabian '15 chalked up two victories, including a formidable showing in the 1000-yard freestyle at an overpowering 10 minutes, 10 seconds. In addition to his dominant margin of victory, Fabian's consistency was impressive-after opening his first 50 yards in 28.11 seconds, he didn't slow down. Fabian's other 50-yard splits never eclipsed 32 seconds. Even though he was well ahead of his competition, he never held back, finishing his last 100 yards in 59 seconds even.
*
Despite having to battle a bit more in the 500-yard freestyle, Fabian easily won in five minutes and eight seconds, 15 seconds faster than his nearest competitors. After pulling ahead in the beginning, he never looked back, increasing his lead throughout the race. Fabian also swam the 200-yard medley relay and the 400-yard individual medley, placing in third in both events.
*
On the women's side, Lauren Cruz '16 pulled through for a victory in the 500-yard freestyle. She finished the distance in five minutes and 36 seconds, 10 seconds better than the rest of the field.
*
Despite Cruz notching the only first-place finish, the females also notched a few notable results for the Judges. Holly Spicer '13 finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke. She kept close to her other competitors throughout the race, but came up just short of a victory, finishing in a minute and 11 seconds. Additionally, she finished second to Trinity College junior Joanna Wycech in the 200-yard breaststroke. After falling behind to Wycech, Spicer roared back and almost caught Wycech but fell seven hundredths of a second short, finishing the race in two minutes and 35 seconds.
*
The Judges look to continue their individual success on Jan. 26 when they host Worcester Polytechnic Institute, their second-to-last home meet of the season. The squads continue to prepare for the University Athletic Association Conference Championships at the University of Chicago on Feb. 13.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Justice.