THE UST Junior Tigersharks extended their dynasty after clinching their fifth consecutive double-gold sweep in the UAAP Season 88 swimming tournament on Sunday, Nov. 9, at the New Clark City Aquatics Centre in Capas, Tarlac.
In the four-day tilt, the UST boys’ squad amassed 630 points behind 18 golds, 9 silvers and 12 bronzes, while the girls’ team tallied 580 points from 11 golds, 10 silvers, and 11 bronzes.
The Tigersharks cemented their legacy as the winningest team in UAAP swimming history, boasting 10 golden double finishes with 27 overall crowns.
Pam Santor earned her third straight MVP plum after taking home six golds and a silver, while shattering three UAAP records. Aishel Evangelista secured back-to-back boys’ MVP honors with six golds and a bronze.
Aica Sy was named Rookie of the Year, notching two silver medals in the girls’ division.
The Junior Male Tigersharks opened their campaign with authority, clinching a 4-3-1 medal tally on the first day.
The quartet of Kristoff David, Gabe Sy, CJ Valenzuela and Tim Capulong set a new UAAP record in the 4×50-meter medley relay, clocking 1:48.13 to erase UST’s six-year-old mark of 1:48.97.
Reigning MVP Evangelista began his dominant performance by topping both the 800m freestyle and 200m individual medley.
UST claimed all three medals in the 800m freestyle, led by Evangelista’s narrow victory at 9:09.62 over fellow Tigershark Charles Janda’s 9:09.64. Teammate Abriz Cruz marked 9:16.89 to take third place and complete the trifecta.
Evangelista then ruled the 200m individual medley, finishing in 2:15.84, followed by runner-up Janda’s 2:17.22.
The boys’ squad continued their dominance on the second day with a 5-5-4 medal haul.
UST completed another podium sweep in the 200m freestyle led by Evangelista with a 4:17.07 finish. Teammates Janda and Cruz followed to secure silver and bronze with times of 4:24.47 and 4:30.12, respectively.
Kristoff David followed the golden haul by anchoring UST to titles in the 100m backstroke and 4x100m freestyle relay. He topped his first event with a 2:13.58, just ahead of Ateneo’s Rafael Lentejas III’s 2:19.68 record.
Afterwards, David alongside Jamen Bersamin, Jacob Tejada, and Joseph Cuidadano powered UST to victory, clocking 3:45.08. Ateneo (3:58.51) and DLSZ (4:11.58) settled for silver and bronze.
On day three, the boys’ squad sat comfortably in the lead with a 6-3-6 medal tally, holding more than double the points of Ateneo in second.
It was a triple gold for Evangelista, who dominated the boys’ 200-meter freestyle (2:00.48), 400-meter individual medley (4:49.53) and 1,500-meter freestyle (17:05.41)
UST capped its campaign with two more podium sweeps in the latter two events, with Janda and Sam Villanueva joining Evangelista in the 400m individual medley, clocking 4:59.48 and 5:08.86, respectively.
In the 1,500m freestyle, Janda (17:47.81) and Abrix Cruz (17:51.60) joined Evangelista on the the podium.
The final outing sealed the deal for the five-peat-seeking Tigersharks, earning a 4-1-1 medal tally.
UST continued to strike gold courtesy of David winning the boys’ 50-meter butterfly (27.33 seconds), Sy dominating the boys’ 200-meter breaststroke (2:27.64) and Capulong securing gold in the boys’ 50-meter freestyle (24.65).
On the girls’ side, UST bagged three of five golds on the opening day with a 3-2-2 output.
Santor led UST’s golden run by winning the 200m individual medley with 2:28.09. Reigning Rookie of the Year Liv Florendo of UPIS finished second at 2:30.54, with Tigershark Genelle Macaspac joined Santor in the podium with bronze in 2:33.37.
Santor’s record-breaking performance continued into day two, as she claimed five golds to solidify UST’s lead.
She reset the UAAP girls’ 100m butterfly mark with 1:03.05, eclipsing Thomasian alumna Camille Buico’s 2019 record of 1:03.45.
With a 4-1-4 medal tally on Day 3, the Junior Female Tigersharks maintained their hold on the top of the standings with one day remaining in the tournament.
Despite narrowly missing the 100m breaststroke and 400m individual medley record, Santor matched Buico’s 50m butterfly record at 28.97 mark. UST’s Savinnah Oliveros also made it to the podium, earning bronze in the same event.
The reigning MVP then sealed her campaign by smashing the 200m butterfly record with 2:22.92 on the final day, helping the girls’ squad to close out the season with a 2-4-3 medal count.
“I remember doubting myself before the competition… but I knew that I had to defend my title as the Junior MVP during the whole three seasons,” the three-time MVP told The Flame.
“I knew that everyone was expecting me to excel in this season, so I had to make them proud, and I knew what I had to do.”
Ateneo secured second place in both divisions, scoring 315 points in the boys’ and 265 points in the girls’. De La Salle Zobel and UP Integrated School completed the podium, each tallying 143 points for third in the boys’ and girls’ brackets, respectively. F – Sophia Carmela dela Cuesta
