If rookie Angela Chui '12 continues to break Brandeis swimming and diving records at her current pace, she will have rewritten the entire record book by the end of her junior year. Chui capped a historic rookie season by setting 11 school records, six individual and five relay records, surpassing Hannah Johnson '02 as the program's all-time record holder. Johnson set 10 records in her career at Brandeis."Honestly, if we trained [Chui] for other events, I believe she could break those school records as well," Coach Jim Zotz said.

Zotz offered high praise for the rookie sensation.

"She's extremely coachable [and] humble; her teammates all just really love her because she's very unassuming. She doesn't necessarily call any attention to herself, and she's extremely versatile," he said.

Chui was recruited from the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J., a boarding school with a nationally acclaimed swimming program.

Around the team, Chui is known as a hard worker who excels in the pool and the classroom. Despite her personal success as an athlete, Chui's focus has always been on the team.

"I'm actually really happy overall with my achievements [and] the team's achievements. Everyone did so well [considering that] we had to swim off campus and everything," she said. [see Swim story p. 23].

Chui set individual records in the 50-yard backstroke (28.83 seconds), 100-yard backstroke (59.92 seconds), 200-yard backstroke (2:8.05 ), 200 -yard individual medley (2:09.38) and the 400-yard individual medley (4:33.24).

Captain Rachel Nadas '09 attributed Chui's succes to her natural ability as well as her hard work in practices.

"She definitely has the natural talent, which helps her out, but I think more than that is just her work ethic, and she really pushes herself to be the best she can."

In the relay events, Chui teamed up with Hollis Viray '10, Siobhan Lyons '10 and Julia Derk '12 to shatter all five Brandeis relay race records this season. The four swimmers combined to set records in the 200-yard medley relay (1:52.25), 400-yard medley relay (4:02.25), 200-yard freestyle relay (1:41.60), 400-yard freestyle relay (3:41.28) and 800-yard freestyle relay (8:07.35). Chui is the leadoff swimmer in all of the relay races, and the squad often relies on her to get off to a fast start to give her teammates momentum.

"[She] sets the tone for the us," Viray said. "When she would dive in there and we'd be out in front, it gives you a sense of adrenaline and an extra excitement because you want to keep the lead for your team and you're already ahead."

Chui was a two-time University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week winner; she received awards on Nov. 17, 2008, and March 2 of this year.

"I never thought I'd get [the award] twice. . When I got it the first time, I was very excited, but then when I got it the second time, I was in shock," Chui said.

According to Zotz, Chui will also be eligible to become an Honorable Mention Academic All-American if she maintains her current grade point average.

When asked where Chui ranks among all of the swimmers Zotz has coached at Brandeis over his 31-year tenure, he answered without any hesitation, "Without a doubt, she's in the top three. There's no question about that.