The men's and women's swimming and diving squads continued to make waves with several standout individual performances last weekend.
The men fell 149-103 at home to Bentley University last Sunday, while the women lost by a score of 135-106. The men also lost at Division-I Providence College by a margin of 118-70, and the women lost 142-58.
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David Lazarovich '16, who was a two-race winner in last Sunday's meet against Bentley, said that the focus for the squad now is to build upon endurance and prepare for the University Athletic Association meet, where the team will see some of its toughest competition.
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"Coach [Kotch] is mainly driving us to get ready for UAAs," he said. "He wanted us to get a feel to endure, and more importantly, get up and try your best each and every race."
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Brian Luk '16 led the way for the Judges in sprints on Sunday, securing first-place finishes against the Falcons in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races. He won the 50-yard race in a time of 22.79 seconds and earned first in the 100-yard race in 49.08 seconds.
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Max Fabian '15 won the 1,000-yard race in a time of 10:10.28 seconds. He also earned another winning finish in the 200-yard individual medley, completing the race in 2:08.75.
Lazarovich rounded out the men's field with two individual victories in the breaststroke events. He won the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:08.48, while also securing the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:27.78.
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The women, though, also accrued strong finishes against their local rivals. Theresa Gaffney '16 headlined the field with a win in the 1,000-yard event with a finish in 11:37.90.
The Judges had traveled to Providence, R.I. the previous day with an entirely different strategy. The squads faced a team that routinely faces Division-I competition but also competed in an unconventional 25-meter pool.
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Lazarovich stated that the atmosphere did not pose a problem for the Judges.
"As long as you're swimming fast, then it will be fine," he said. "The focus is on getting fast times and ultimately points-that focus is the same against any level of competition."
Fabian had no problems with the change in scenery.
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He won another two races for the Judges, adding on to what has been a formidable start to the season. He notched first-place in the 800-yard freestyle race with a time of 8:48.70, but encountered an imposing field in the 400-yard race. He edged out Providence sophomore Justin Tse by one-tenth of a second, finishing in 4:20.23.
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Luk also contributed to the Judges' success with a win in the 100-yard freestyle event, finishing in 55.10. Holly Spicer '13 earned Brandeis' third victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, completing the race in 1:17.71.
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The Judges encounter a three-week break before traveling to face Wesleyan University on Dec. 1. The Judges' next home match will be on Jan. 26, 2013 against Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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Lazarovich said the squads will use this crucial rest period to get faster and work more cohesively as a team.

"Right now, we are going to be focusing on increased endurance and getting off the wall faster," he said. "We haven't quite reached that peak, but we will get there before January and the next half of the season."