The Judges have been busy lately, both in and out of the water.The team resumed training on De c. 2 6, and practiced at Brandeis until Jan. 2. They then embarked on a trip to the Bahamas, where they not only practiced their swimming, but also competed in several meets .

The Judges competed against the likes of Lake Forest College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Clark University in relay meets; the men and women both finished first against those schools. The women lost a very close decision to Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.) on Jan. 6.

The team invested a lot of time and effort into their training, and they hope that their hard work will pay off as the season progresses .

In addition to spending time training and competing, both teams contributed to the community, as they prepared meals for AIDS patients on Dec. 27.

The teams went up against the University of Rochester and MIT this past Saturday in Cambridge. Unfortunately, the women lost 172-125 to Rochester and 168-132 to MIT.

Sharon Makowsky '06 won the 200-yard Butterfly (2:19.00) and came in first against MIT in the 1000-yard freestyle .

Jordan RoseFigura '04 won the 500-yard Freestyle event against Rochester and came in second against MIT. Rosefigura was also very strong in the 200-yard Freestyle race.

Shira Friedman '03 excelled in the diving events as she won the 1-meter event and came in second in the 3-meter competition.

The 400 Medley Relay team, which includes RoseFigura, MayaMarx '04, Makowsky and Elizabeth Fischer '05 finishes first against Rochesterand second aganist MIT.

Marx also won the 100-yard Breaststroke (1:09.02) as well as the 200Breaststroke (2:30.6).

The Judges were hoping to perform better against Rochester, but Rochester's depth proved to be the decisive factor in the meet

As expected, the men's team took care of Rochester, winning 198-89. They were, however, unable todefeat an MIT team that is perennially their most formidable opponent. The team lost this matchup 171-109.

Marshall Goldman '03 won the 100-yard Butterfly and was also part of the Medley Relay team. Nick Dufresne won the 100-yard Breaststroke (1:03.4) and the 200-yard Breaststroke (2:17.8) . Noah Rachlin '05 had very strong performances in the 200-yard Butterfly and in the 400 Individual Medley.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the day came from James Yeaton '04, who came in second in both the one-meter and three-meter diving events, despite being sick the morning of the meet.

Other members of the men 's squad were at a disadvantage due to a rash of injuries and illness . The team put forth a herculean effort, but caught some tough breaks that factored into the MIT loss.

Both the men's and women's teams will face Clark University in their next meet. Both teams are currently 4--2.

Meets such as the upcoming one against Clark will serve as tuneups for the very challenging meeta against Tufts University at the end of the season.