After one meet in her college career, rookie Angela Chui '12 already has a school record on her list of accomplishments.Chui's time of 1 minute, 1.97 seconds in the backstroke leg leading off the 400-yard medley relay broke the Brandeis all-time 100-yard backstroke record at the swimming and diving teams' season-opening Michael Zarrilli Memorial Invitational last Saturday. That was one of five event records for the Judges, who took first place over Clark University and Gordon College.

"[Chui's] going to be a real good swimmer for us," coach Jim Zotz said. "She's a real hard worker [and] a great kid."

The Brandeis men's and women's squads tallied 176 points combined at the Invitational, while Clark and Gordon finished with 149 and 65 points, respectively.

"I think everyone swam really fast, and we won by a lot; we won almost every single race, so I think it was really good," Hollis Viray '10 said.

The season-opening Invitational is traditionally a more laid-back event. Because the swimming events are all relays, the emphasis, said Zotz, lies more on having fun.

"Basically, the philosophy of the meet is one of fun, the way it's set up for relays," Zotz said. "First of all, all swimmers love relays because you're not up there by yourself . You're up there with other teammates, so it tends to be a lot looser and just more fun."

Such enjoyment usually translates to success in the pool, Zotz added.

"Bottom line is, when you relax and enjoy yourself, you can usually swim well too," he said.

Brandeis won seven out of 10 relay events, with many swimmers participating in multiple first-place performances.

Viray, Chui, James Liu '10 and rookies Marc Eder '12 and Julia Derk '12 were all part of three different first-place relay teams.

Viray said she was happy with her individual performance, especially given the fact that it was the first intercollegiate meet of the year.

"I was actually really pleased with my performance," Viray said. "I wasn't really sure how well I would swim because we haven't been training for that long, but I actually swam really well, and I was really pleased."

Clark captured the remaining three relays and posted meet records in both the 150-yard feet-first relay and the 300-yard backstroke relay.

In the 1-meter diving event, Brandeis broke the previous meet record set in 1996 by over 76 points.

Chui emphasized the importance of the camaraderie exhibited by her teammates

"It just like motivates you more," Chui said. "Because if you're swimming, you . hear them-you hear them cheering for you-so it's like, you're going to have to push yourself even more."

Both squads will compete in their first dual matches of the season tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. against Boston College before traveling to Keene State College Saturday at 5 p.m.