By: Portia Doragos
CAPAS, Tarlac – For the fourth consecutive season, University of Santo Tomas’s boys’ and girls’ swimming teams asserted their dominance in the pool, surging to commanding leads in their respective divisions as the first day of the UAAP Season 87 Swimming Championships concluded at the New Clark City Aquatics Centre here on Sunday.
The Junior Tigersharks were relentless in the boys’ division, sweeping all five events on offer while collecting three silver medals as well. This stellar performance earned them 151 points—an astonishing 98-point lead over second-place Ateneo de Manila University, which tallied 53 points.
UST’s Aishel Evangelista led the charge with a victory in the boys’ 800-meter freestyle, clocking in at 8:59.93, ahead of teammate Aldrich Balderas (9:27.54).
Evangelista nearly secured a double-gold performance but settled for second place in the boys’ 200-meter individual medley (2:16.63) after teammate Joaquin Mirasol claimed gold with a time of 2:16.18.
The Tigersharks continued their dominance with 1-2 finishes across all individual events.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Jab Delizo (53.03) and Zach Belen (54.32) clinched the top two spots in the boys’ 100-meter freestyle.
UST’s depth shone brightly in the relay events.
The team of Kristoff David, Francis Ebcas, CJ Valenzuela, and Luke Ayles triumphed in the boys’ 4×50-meter medley relay, finishing in 1:50.60.
Meanwhile, Julian De Kam, Valenzuela, Yubert Parto, and Balderas ruled the boys’ 4×200-meter freestyle relay with a time of 8:33.19.
Ateneo secured second place in both relay events, while University of the Philippines Integrated School completed the podium.
In the girls’ division, UST amassed 105 points from three golds and two bronzes, while Ateneo (65 points) and UPIS (53 points) followed in second and third places, respectively.
The individual events showcased fierce competition among UST, Ateneo, and UPIS.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Liv Florendo of UPIS topped the girls’ 800-meter freestyle with a time of 9:52.27, while Ateneo’s Trixie Ortiguerra captured gold in the girls’ 100-meter freestyle (1:00.66).
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
UST’s Pam Santor edged out the competition in the girls’ 200-meter individual medley, winning in 2:30.45.
Ateneo’s Liaa Margarette Amoguis delivered a strong showing, earning silver in both the girls’ 800-meter freestyle (9:54.44) and 200-meter individual medley (2:32.05).
UPIS’ Aubrey Tom also contributed significantly, finishing second in the girls’ 100-meter freestyle (1:02.01) and third in the 200-meter individual medley (2:34.33).
The Junior Tigersharks solidified their dominance in the relay events.
The team of Isha Villa, CY Delos Santos, Sinagtala Cuevas, and Gerice Oyaman triumphed in the girls’ 4×50-meter medley relay, clocking in at 2:07.76, nearly 20 seconds ahead of second-place De La Salle Zobel (2:24.14).
Meanwhile, DJ Santamaria, Louie Daiz, Hanna Sales, and Zichi Daiz delivered another commanding performance for UST in the girls’ 4×200-meter freestyle relay, finishing in 9:52.33—almost a full minute ahead of Ateneo (10:48.25).
Day 2 of the UAAP Season 87 Swimming Championships will continue on Monday with the preliminary rounds for the 400-meter freestyle, 50-meter breaststroke, 100-meter butterfly, and 200-meter backstroke are set to begin at 8:30 a.m., with finals scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
