The swimming and diving squads headed to Wesleyan University this past Saturday to begin a month-long stretch of road meets. The men and women started their December road trip on the right note, securing four first-place results and an array of top finishes.

While the men ultimately lost 171-75 and the women suffered a 207-70 defeat to Wesleyan, David Lazarovich '16 was impressed with the squad's performance against a high-quality opponent.

"We had good times all across the board and really displayed a great attitude in this meet," he said. "We hope to carry that into our meet against Clark [University]."

Sophomore transfer Max Fabian '15 continued to make waves in his first season for the Judges, securing victories in the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle races.

In addition to his 13-second lead in the 500-free, Fabian etched his name into the Brandeis history books with a finish of nine minutes, 56:44 seconds in the 1,000 yard event. Fabian's finish proved to be 1.5 seconds faster than the previous record, which he set during the school opener versus Wheaton College on Oct. 20.

Fabian, in an email to the Justice, attributed his success to the support of his teammates, as well as the leadership provided by coach Michael Kotch.

"I think the key factors in my performances this weekend have been the hard work our team has been putting in this season and the guidance of Coach Kotch, who has been a great coach and leader of the team this season," he wrote.

Brian Luk '16 secured yet another victory for the men, winning the 100-yard freestyle meet in 48.98 seconds. He managed to edge out the approaching Weselyan swimmer by 0.23 seconds. Luk fell just short of victories in the 100-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle meets, finishing in 0.18 seconds and 0.53 seconds, respectively.
Padraig Murphy '14 rounded out the action for the men with a second-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke in 2:08.12.

The women also boasted several top performances versus the Cardinals, including standout finishes from the first-years.
Fallon Bushee '16 headlined the meet with a first-place result in the 50-yard freestyle meet, outracing her opponent by a mere five-hundredths of a second.

The rest of the squad, though, caught Wesleyan's attention with a string of second-place finishes. Theresa Gaffney '16 raced with a time of 11:52.90 in the 1,000-yard freestyle, while Lauren Cruz '16 finished in 5:37.14 in the 500-yard freestyle. Fay Laborio '16 raced in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke events, earning times of 1:06.11 and 2:20.67, respectively.

Holly Spicer '13 led the charge for the veterans of the squad, including a second-place result in the 200-yard breaststroke at a time of 2:34.22. Eliza Kopelman '15 made a splash in the one and three-meter diving events, earning scores of 167.55 and 184.87 respectively.

The squads resume action this Saturday at Clark, but as Lazarovich noted, the teams continue to improve and look to make a statement.

"We now have a good idea of how we work as a team," he said. "We just have to harness this positive energy and apply it to our future meets, especially Saturday."

Fabian echoed these sentiments, further noting that the squads' chemistry has been essential for both individual and team success this season.

"We have been doing a very good job of pulling together as a team and working hard to progress both the team and each other as individuals to meet our goals for the season," he wrote in an email to the Justice.

"As the season progresses, I think we can continue to lay the foundations for following years and continue to work hard in the pool."