LOS BAÑOS, LAGUNA — Reigning UAAP MVP Chloe Daos continued to collect golds in her third campaign with Ateneo, adding the 400m Freestyle (4:42.37) and 100m Butterfly (1:03.35) titles under her belt, Friday at the Trace Aquatics Center.
Thus far, she has won all her four events and collected sixty points to lead the MVP race in the UAAP Season 82 Swimming Championships.
Palarong Pambansa star and national age-grouper Erin Castrillo of UP nearly staged an upset in 100m Butterfly by clocking 1:03.59. The super-rookie, who is spearheading her team with thirty-six points, led for most of the race before succumbing to the more experienced Daos. Suzanne Himor of Ateneo was a far third at 1:07.44.
Meanwhile, UP’s veteran tanker Nadine Tee Ten took the silver medal in the 400m Freestyle after registering a time of 4:48.99. She clocked in ahead of DLSU’s bronze medalist Nichole Evangelista, who finished at 4:49.63.
Evangelista, who is currently tied for second in the MVP race with forty points, also took the silver medal in the 50m Breaststroke after touching at 36.35 seconds. Ateneo’s rookie Rona Lalimo emerged victorious in that event with a time of 35.08 seconds. Rounding out the podium in 36.47 seconds is UP’s Alyssa Pogiongko.
Another super-rookie in Nikki Pamintuan, a SEA Games medalist and many-time UAAP Juniors’ MVP, brought home the gold medal for DLSU in 200m Backstroke by touching at 2:28.53. This was Pamintuan’s second gold medal after winning the 200m Individual Medley on Day 1 to lead the Rookie-of-the-Year race with forty points.
Chesca Joves of UP, another rookie, surprised the crowd with her silver medal time of 2:30.48 to upstage Courtney Gray of Ateneo, who only managed a time of 2:34.19.
The day’s action concluded with a heated battle between Ateneo and UP in the 400m Freestyle Relay, where the two teams were neck-and-neck. Veteran sprinter Andrea Ngui then took over for Ateneo in the final leg en route to a new UAAP record time of 4:11.31. Ngui relied on Himor and rookies Portia Doragos and Marjorie Manguiat to keep the race close, as the squad of UP was threatening to pull away. In the end, UP finished in 4:12.42, while DLSU was third in 4:26.98.
The team standings at the halfway mark have Ateneo stretching its lead with 213 points, ahead of UP’s 156, DLSU’s 120 and UST’s 51.
UAAP Swimming action continues at the Trace Aquatic Sports Complex on October 19, 2019. 200m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, 50m Butterfly, 100m Backstroke, 400m Individual Medley and 200m Freestyle Relay are lined up for Day 3.
