It may have just been rivalry weekend in college football, but this past week was rivalry week for Brandeis swimming and diving. With two meets in four days against cross-town rival Bentley College and UAA foe Rochester, the Judges had their hands full.

The men's team started the week with a 127-106 win over Bentley and ended with a 170.5-123.5 win over Rochester on Saturday, but the women's team lost both meets.

Despite falling to 2-3 on the season, the women got key contributions from Sharon Makowsky '06 and Sarah Evans '06.

Matt Christian '05 and Hal Grossman '07 put forth phenomenal efforts to help the men's team improve to 3-1.

Chris Pai '07 won the 100-yard Butterfly in a blazing 54.85 seconds. Hal Grossman '07 came in second place in the 1000-yard butterfuly and John Eskow '08 finished second in the 100-yard butterfly at 56.72 seconds.

The men dominated in the 400-yard individual medley, with Christian, Grossman and Noah Rachlin '05 placing first, third and fourth respectively.

For the women, the final result was not the desired one, but there were many impressive individual events. Lalin Anik '06 won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:03.38, and Evans came in second in the 200-yard freestyle and third in the 500-yard freestyle.

Makowsky finished second in both the 200- yard butterfully and the 400-yard individual medley.

In relays, the women won the 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle.

"Our team unity against Rochester was very strong and we were really supportive of each other," Makowsky said.

"As the team works together, we are more fired up and motivate each other, and get behind everyone and as a team I think we'll do better," Evans said.

It was a tale of two teams in the Judges' battle against cross-town rival Bentley College this past Tuesday.

The men's team defeated Bentley by a score of 127-106 while the women's team lost 142-100. Over on the men's side arguably the biggest contributor was Christian.

Christian put forth a stellar performance in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:17, good for seventh in Brandeis history. Grossman had a very strong meet, coming in second in the 200-yard butterfly and winning the 500-yard freestyle.

Cesar Olivier '08 showed his versatility by diving, and his marks counted for 15 percent of the Judges' points.

Makowsky was the star again for the women against Bentley, winning both the 1000-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly as well. Evans had an exceptionally strong 200-yard freestyle, barely missing out on first place.

Carrie Bilodeau '05 came in third place in the 1000-yard freestyle, and shaved nine seconds off her previous time.

The men took care of business against a relatively weak Bentley team and stronger opponent in University. The men were able to overcome all-American Nick Pai '05 struggling with a knee injury and Todd Berman '07 being out with a shoulder injury.

The men did not race particularly well against Babson College two weeks ago, but that was largely due to the fact that they were swimming down to Babson's level.

They were able to rise to the occasion against Bentley and Rochester and put up faster times than against Babson.

There are 16 first-years and only 10 upperclassmen on the women's squad, so the team is facing a dearth of experienced veterans.

"We see the Bentley meet as an opportunity to, win or lose, get some great performances, and in both cases I felt we got some great performances, but we needed more," Coach Jim Zotz said.

The Judges will look to improve upon their solid start in the ECAC Championships in early December at a location still to be determined.

"We have really good unity," Ali Smizer '07 said. "People are really coming together and suporting each other. [On Saturday], everyone was cheering and supporting each other."

After visiting Tufts and Wheaton College in December, the Judges will not swim in competition again until they host MIT on Jan. 15 at 1 p.m.

We need to work on our confidence," Jen Gordon '06 said. "We need to believe that we can win."

The Judges visit Tufts on Dec. 11 and Wheaton College on Dec. 12. The Jumbos have only won one meet.