The Ateneo Blue Eagles swept through the seniors’ ranks of the UAAP Season 87 swimming tournament, while UST asserted themselves in the juniors’ division.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles etched another milestone in UAAP swimming after clinching their ninth consecutive men’s division championship, and reclaiming the women’s title after a five-year wait in the UAAP Season 87 swimming championships held at the New Clark City Aquatics Center in Capas, Tarlac.
These victories further solidify Ateneo’s dominance in collegiate swimming, winning its 10th overall title in the men’s division and seventh in the women’s side.
Ateneo’s men’s team dominated the four-day meet after securing 19 out of 22 gold medals to amass a staggering 493 points. Their closest rival, De La Salle University, settled for second place with 321 points, followed by UP (226 points) and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) (170 points).
Day 4 saw the Blue Eagles claim five golds and two bronze medals. The sole event they missed was the 200-meter breaststroke, where UP’s Geoffrey Liberato edged out La Salle’s Earl Jay Jayme for gold, clocking in at 2:22.64.
Day 4 also belonged to Ateneo’s standout rookies, with Miguel Barreto delivering a flawless campaign to win his seventh gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle, and earn Rookie of the Year–MVP honors with a perfect 105 points.
Fellow rookie Ivo Enot showcased his talent with two gold medals on the final day, clocking in 27.19 seconds in the 50-meter backstroke, and following it up with a 24.06-second finish in the 50-meter freestyle.
Other notable performances included Juan Marco Daos, who claimed his first gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:10.39, and the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay team, composed of Enot, Charles Ticbaen, Rafael Barreto, and Rian Marco Tirol.
The relay team shattered the UAAP record with a time of 3:52.73, surpassing UP’s previous mark by nearly four seconds.
In the women’s division, Ateneo faced stiff competition from UP and La Salle en route to breaking a five-year title drought. After entering the final day with a 25-point lead, State U mounted a fierce challenge to cut the gap to just eight points before the last event of the swimming championships.
UP’s Season 86 Rookie of the Year-MVP Quendy Fernandez gave the Fighting Maroons an early boost on Day 4 through a dominant win in the 50-meter backstroke that slashed Ateneo’s lead to 11 points. The rookie-MVP clocked in 30.18 seconds, almost a second ahead of Blue Eagles’ captain Samantha Coronel (31.03) seconds to begin UP’s last-gasp rally.
However, the Blue Eagles were quick to respond through Sofia Isip’s 200-meter breaststroke to restore a 37-point cushion. Isip clocked in 2:42.60 seconds, and shared the podium with UST Tigersharks Sairinne Florianno (2:43.39) and Beatriz Mabalay (2:44.92).
The Fighting Maroons slowly worked the lead once more in the women’s 200-meter butterfly as their captain Camille Lauren Buico raced to a 2:22.91 finish, outswimming Floriano (2:23.38) and Ateneo’s Mishka Sy (2:24.22) for the gold, which cut the Eagles’ lead down to 33 points.
It wasn’t until the final women’s 4×100-meter medley relay that the women’s championship was decided. Exihibiting poise under pressure, Ateneo’s team of Samantha Coronel, Isip, Sam Andrei Doragos and Kirsten Manuel delivered to clock a record-breaking 4:29.24 to secure a gold medal, and a 13-point advantage in the standings.
Mishka Sy was named tournament MVP for the women’s ranks, which further solidified the Eagles’ resurgence in the women’s division.
With a golden double in the books, Ateneo swimming program director Archie Lim credited their success to perseverance and championship tradition.
“’Yung biggest challenge is keeping them motivated and [having] the desire to actually perform,” Lim said after the four-day tournament.“We reminded them that breaking records and winning golds bring honor to the school and the team.”
Lim admitted that while the men’s victory was anticipated, the women’s triumph came as a surprise.
“Honestly, coming in, medyo unexpected. We weren’t even contenders based on last year. We lost key players. Ang naging challenge is how do we motivate them [despite] akala namin walang chance,” he shared.
The seniors’ determination to leave a lasting legacy inspired the entire squad.
“Marami kaming seniors, and nag rub-off na it’s their last year. Everyone shared that desire to perform well. Luckily, for some reason, we won the championship,” Lim expressed.
The Tigersharks set the standard
Over in the Juniors division, the UST Tigersharks also secured a double championship for the fourth-consecutive season by clinching both the boys’ and girls’ titles. This marks the Tigersharks’ 11th overall title in the boy’s division, and 14th overall in the girls’ side.
The UST boys’ team swept all six gold medals on Day 4, which was accompanied by four silvers and a bronze to cap off their golden haul. The Tigersharks also finished the tourney with an impressive 738 points, a massive gap ahead of second-placer Ateneo (255), third-placer La Salle Zobel (107), and the University of the Philippines (95).
All in all, the España-based tankers finished the meet with 20 of the 22 gold medals available, followed by 15 silver and eight bronze medals.
UST boys’ head coach Caesar Augustus Alcantara attributed their dominance to a well-planned recruitment strategy.
“Recruiting ‘yung alam kong makakatulong, kasi may mga nagpapabaya eh [which is] hindi naman mawawala sa team ‘yan,” Alcantara explained. “Every year talaga, kailangan mag-recruit ka kasi gawa ng senior high. Recruit ka ng Grade 11, after two years graduate na ‘yan. So kailangan may pampalit ka. At hindi ka pwede magpalit ng masyadong bata… mga Grade 7 and 8, kasi ang lalakas ng mga kalaban nila which is Grade 11 and Grade 12.”
The strategy of focusing on Grade 11 athletes paid dividends, as Alcantara celebrated UST’s remarkable performance.
“My highlight for this season is that after so long may nag-53 [seconds] na ulit sa 100 [meter freestyle], and 23 [seconds] sa 50 [meter] free. Although ‘yung sa 50 [meter] free, nagawa niya sa relay pero first diver siya,” Alcantara shared.
One of the stars of the boys’ division, Aishel Evangelista, bagged his fifth gold medal in the 1500-meter freestyle on Day 4, earning him the tournament MVP award with 95 points.
In the afternoon session, Ryian Zach Belen contributed two golds, triumphing in the 50-meter backstroke (27.39 seconds) and 50-meter freestyle (24.08 seconds).
Kaden Gabriel Sy and Samuel Ieuan Villanueva also struck gold in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:38.00) and 200-meter butterfly (2:15.84), respectively.
The boys’ team capped its campaign with a record-breaking performance in the 4×100-meter medley relay, where Kristoff David, Sy, CJ Valenzuela, and Jabrielle Delizo clocked 4:02.28, breaking their previous UAAP record of 4:03.68 set last season.
The girls’ team was just as excellent, as they hit a new record for the 4×100-meter medley relay thanks to Alexandra Marie Rejuso, Clara Yzabela Delos Santos, Sinagtala Cuevas and Juliana Lagula’s 4:38.58 finish to surpass their record of 4:39.39 set last year.
Reigning MVP Patricia Mae Santor shone once again, clinching her fifth gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly (2:24.05). Though she settled for bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:55.51) behind teammate Sealtiel Cherrie Daiz (2:48.75), Santor’s overall performance earned her a second consecutive MVP award with 91 points.
“I’m proud of how we all performed this season,” said Santor. “Winning back-to-back MVP awards is special, but it’s the team effort that truly matters.”
As for other individual awards, UP’s Liv Abigail Florendo was named Rookie of the Year in the girls’ division after tallying 55 points from one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the four-day meet. La Salle’s Niño Angelo Pugay, meanwhile, was the boys’ Rookie of the Year after a silver medal finish in the 200-meter butterfly.
Banner images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.