UPISNews01052007a

The UPIS Swimming Team

UPIS Girls Swimming Team Retains UAAP Crown
Jan Therese Catanaoan (10-Narra)
Team Captain, Girls Swimming Team

The UPIS Girls Swimming Team won UAAP’s Season 70 Swimming championship, retaining the crown for two consecutive seasons. The competition was held at Trace College in Los Baños, Laguna last September 20-23. The University of the Philippines High School Varsity Swimming Team along with four other schools, Ateneo De Manila University, De La Salle Zobel, University of the East, and University of Santo Tomas participated in the said event.

Those four days were the days which the athletes prepared for, the days which they prayed for, that their years of training will pay off. Ordinarily, in other swimming competitions, individual medals and glories are the aspirations of every swimmer but not with the annual UAAP Swimming Competition - not for the University of the Philippines Swimming Team. For the members of the team, it’s no longer I or You but rather WE as “One Team, One Spirit”.

The team, whose members are all willing to give out their best and conquer the impossible attribute their back-to-back championship to hard work and strong commitment to excellence for the glory of our dear Alma Mater. The team also attributes this feat to Coach Bernie Cavida. According to the team, Coach Bernie knows his swimmers well and creates a winning strategy.

Last Season 69, the team wrestled the championship from the defending champion, University of the East with a lead of more than 100 points. That same year, the relay team composed of Jan Catanaoan, Loralie Albino, Christine Hipol and Ducielle Suarez set a new UAAP record for the 4 x 50 meter Medley Relay. Moreover, Jodie de Leon earned the Rookie of the Year title.

For this year - Season 70, the Girls team had a lead of 47 points against UST who grabbed the 1^st runner-up title while UE finished as 2^nd runner-up. UPIS Girls Team Captain, Jan Catanaoan helped the team maintain the heart of a champion. The team garnered a total of 11 gold medals, 14 silver medals, and 15 bronze medals. In addition, Bea Grabador set a new UAAP Record for the 50 meter Butterfly.

On the other hand, the Boys Team, led by their team captain Miguel Reyes ended up at 4^th place with just some points behind by University of the East. They came home with a total of 12 silver medals, and 3 bronze medals.

With all these awards, The UPIS Swimming Team vowed that they will not to rest on their laurels. The team continues to train hard in order to exceed their performances. The team is already looking forward to a more challenging battle next season.