The UAAP Season 79 Swimming Championships opened last October 21 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Swimming Pool and concluded last Monday. In the four-day swim meet, the DLSU Green Tankers garnered a total of 314 points, sustaining second place, while the Lady Tankers also maintained third place with 169 points.
In this year’s event, the ADMU Blue Eagles once again dominated the competition on their way to a third straight title, while the men’s UP Varsity Swimming Team remained in third place for the second consecutive season. The UP Varsity Swimming Team reclaimed the women’s title, narrowly edging the ADMU Lady Eagles.
Day one
During the opening day, Catherine Bondad of the Lady Tankers clinched silver at the Women’s 100m freestyle event while Alnair Guevarra of the Green Tankers nabbed the bronze in the Men’s 100m freestyle event.
In the relay events, the Green Tankers were able to earn two podium finishes. Sage Yabut, John Velecina, Jose Mari Ereñeta, and Benjie Narciso placed third in the Men’s 4x200m freestyle relay. Lastly, Arian Puyo, Alfonso Bautista, Leon Silvestre, and Juan Miguel Narciso bagged silver medals in the Men’s 4x50m medley relay, while they established a new record of 1:48.42 in the process, alongside the Ateneo Blue Eagles who clocked in 1:46.91.
Day two
For individual events, Guevarra secured the silver for the Men’s 100m butterfly, and Silvestre claimed the bronze for the same event. Puyo won third place in the Men’s 200m backstroke event. DLSU Lady Tanker Bondad copped the silver for the Women’s 200m backstroke event. Lastly, DLSU Green Tanker Bautista nabbed the gold for the Men’s 50m breaststroke, retaining the UAAP record of 29.69 of Gian Carlo Silva from the ADMU Blue Eagles. The DLSU Green and Lady Tankers collected bronze medals for both the 4x100m Men’s and Women’s freestyle relay.
Day three
With the competition nearly coming to a close, the Taft-based squad continued to bag several individual awards. Silvestre claimed silver in the Men’s 50m butterfly, as he swam side-by-side with Olympian Jessie Lacuna of the ADMU Blue Eagles. Last season’s UAAP Rookie of the Year, Puyo, took the gold medal in the Men’s 100m backstroke. Meanwhile, Guevarra from the DLSU Tankers placed third in the Men’s 400m Individual medley. Both Catherine Bondad and Dara Evangelista claimed gold and bronze medals respectively in the Women’s 100m backstroke.
Glycel So, Mariel Carandang, Catherine Bondad, and Dara Evangelista nearly broke the record of 1:54.09 of the Women’s 4x50m freestyle relay, as they clocked in at 1:54.17, en route to a gold medal finish. In the men’s division, Alfonso Bautista, Alnair Guevarra, Juan Miguel Narciso, and Leon Silvestre nabbed silver medals in the same event as they posted a time of 1:37.76, behind the ADMU Blue Eagles who logged 1:36.95. Both Men’s teams were able to beat the record of 1:39.21 from the UAAP Swimming Championships back in 2015.
Day four
On the final day, the ADMU Tankers once again dominated the competition, buoyed by Alberto Batungbacal and Axel Ngui. The men’s side saw Ateneo sweeping all five events, including a record-setting time of 4:03.67 in the 4x100m medley relay, shattering the previous best of 4:06.07 a season before. Meanwhile, the Green-and-White would once again rely on Puyo and Silvestre to secure podium finishes. The former would bag a silver in the 50m backstroke as well as a bronze in the 200m butterfly, while the latter finished in third in the 50m freestyle. In addition, Gamaliel Torres, Vincent Raymundo, Baron Ong, and John Velecina contributed bronze medals to the Green Tankers podium finishes.
In the women’s division, it was a two-way race for the gold between UP and ADMU, as both schools had the lion’s share of first-place finishes leading up to the final day. But it was the Lady Maroons who had the final say in the remaining set of events, taking the 200m breaststroke, 200m butterfly, 50m freestyle, and 4x100m medley to seal the championship. The DLSU Lady Tankers did have something to celebrate in Bondad, as she copped the gold in the Women’s 50m backstroke.
Individual awards
During the culmination of the four-day swim meet, ADMU swept the individual awards in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Batungbacal was awarded the Most Valuable Swimmer, while Miguel Arellano won Rookie of the Years (ROY). Likewise, Hannah Dato was the Most Valuable Swimmer in the women’s division, while Andrea Ngui was named ROY.
Their rivals from Katipunan and Diliman were only small obstacles en route to the championship. The physical exhaustion and discipline the swimmers had to face was incomparable to the proper mindset and mental toughness required from them. The team trained every morning for almost a year and they swam their hearts out during the grueling four-day competition.
At the end of the Swimming Championships, the DLSU Tankers are hopeful for the next season as they continue to make room for improvements. As the season comes to a close, the Green Tankers bids farewell to Vince Raymundo. The team captain served the team for five years and has been a formidable athlete ever since. As the Green-and-White was able to respectfully sustain its ranks from last season’s championships, the team is looking forward to make greater waves in the next seasons to come.
