The present might not look very bright for the swimming teams after last-place finishes at last week's University Athletic Association Championships in Cleveland. Nevertheless, solid performances by the Judges' rookies gave hope for a promising future for Brandeis.Both the men's and women's swimming teams finished last out of eight teams in their respective fields. Still, James Liu '10 and Justin Wellins '10 paced the men in both individual and relay events, while Rachel Sawicki '10 and Hollis Viray '10 excelled individually for the women.

The Judges couldn't overcome slow starts at these UAAs. After the men's team garnered a mere 87 points and the women's team scored 88 points on the first day of competition Thursday, the men finished with 444 points and the women had 459 by the end of the tournament Saturday.

Emory University won the championship for the ninth straight year.

"You have to get a feel for the walls and your turns," Wellins said.

"People get more comfortable and you swim faster after the first day."

As they have done all season, Liu and Wellins carried the men's team despite their youth. Liu finished 10th out of 24 swimmers in the 100-yard butterfly Friday with a time of 52.58 seconds, good for third on the Brandeis all-time list.

Liu then surprised himself Saturday by finishing 11th in the 100-yard freestyle event in 47.96 seconds, which qualified him for the Eastern College Athletic Conference finals and placed him fourth on the Brandeis all-time list.

"I didn't know I was capable of going that fast in the [freestyle]," Liu said.

Wellins complemented Liu's performance Saturday by posting the fourth-best all-time performance at Brandeis in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2 minutes, 45 seconds.

Liu and Wellins also teamed up in the 800-yard freestyle relay with Bobby Morse '09 and Mike Rubin '09 to finish in 7:16.46, qualifying for ECACs.

In addition, the standout rookies were part of ECAC-qualifying relay teams in the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard medley relay.

Nicholas Rice '08 turned in top-five all-time Brandeis times in both the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard backstroke events.

Lerman also qualified for ECACs in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:00.55.

The women also received notable contributions from their rookies. Rachel Sawicki '10 turned in the Judges' best individual performance, finishing tenth out of 24 swimmers in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:12.18.

"I was surprised [by my success] because I never really swam the 200-butterfly this season," Sawicki said.

In the 100-yard breaststroke, Sawicki edged out Carnegie Mellon University freshman Sara Andrews by .01 seconds with a time of 1:11.36.

Another rookie, Hollis Viray '10, surpassed her season-best performance in the 200-yard breastroke, completing the race in 2:33.64 and finishing the weekend third on the Brandeis all-time list.

Leah Lipka '09, Viray, Sawicki and Donna Kremer '10 joined forces in the 200-yard medley relay to take seventh place out of 16 teams.

In diving, the women felt the absence of top performer Charlotte Rea '08, who qualified for the NCAA Division III championships fell ill with a stomach virus and was unable to race this weekend.

The ECAC Championships take place this weekend in Cambridge.