Winners in the Water: UP Varsity Swim Team – Women’s sets sights on stronger Season 87

The UP Varsity Swim Team – Women’s (UPVST-W) made waves by securing the University of the Philippines’ only swimming gold medal in Season 86.

With a total of 435 points and an overall medal tally of 11 golds, eight silvers, and two bronzes, the UPVST-W finally brought home that coveted swimming championship after seven long years of waiting.

Palawan native Quendy Fernandez led the team’s golden charge, dominating the competition and placing on the podium for all six of her events, including three golds and three silvers. She was also awarded both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, as well as named Season 86 Collegiate Athlete of the Year.

Other notable names on the team include Angela Villamil and Atasha dela Torre, whose relay team secured gold and set a new UAAP record in the 4×100 Freestyle; Camille Buico, who brought home gold in the Women’s 200m and 100m Butterfly, among others; and Erin Castrillo, with a gold in the Women’s 50m butterfly and silver in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley, among others.

“It’s a different experience pag nakapasok ka sa finals,” Buico shared in an interview. “It’s more competitive when you swam your heart out sa [preliminaries] palang kase you have to do that ten times more sa finals.”

The pressure when competing in the finals, according to Buico, is an entirely different beast as opposed to the preliminary stages. “You have to meet certain expectations,” she said. “Whether it’s external or the expectations you have within yourself. […] The UAAP is a high-caliber competition and you have to learn how to stay level.”

Sophomore Angela Pogiongko expressed the satisfaction that came with finally winning the championship after missing by only 36 points in Season 85. “After the long hours of training both in and out of the pool […] it’s such a good feeling [that] finally, after our hard work and determination, it finally paid off.”

Iammejen Lopez, who is in her first year with the team, saw the winning moment as a core memory. “As soon as they announced that the Women’s Team were champions, I saw from everyone that it was pure happiness. Everyone started crying tears of joy because I could see that their hard work was paid for.”

“It was very fulfilling,” added Dela Torre. “Nakita namin na kaya rin namin na ma-proud yung management, yung team, tsaka yung coaches. So, it was a fulfilling experience.”

For Buico, the UAAP championship was inevitable, payoff for the team’s patience and dedication.

“Personally, ang daming naging obstacles before UAAP came,” she said. “There was a sense of relief that finally, we made it. Ever since Season 85, we’ve been eyeing that championship […] to finally achieve that, it’s such a big accomplishment.”

Like every other sport, the team’s victory came as a result of discipline and rigorous training. Staying motivated throughout said training, however, was  a challenge in itself, one that the team had different ways of overcoming.

Fernandez shared that she is able to push through with the training simply because she loves the sport. “Kahit nakakapagod yung swimming, I love to do it. Like, swimming is one of the [things] that I’m willing na ilaan yung oras ko, mapagod, fail, and try again and [again].”

Buico feels similarly, stating that, “[Swimming] is something that I enjoy, something that I try to hold on to. […] The idea that it’s something I enjoy doing kahit na, on the flip side, I suffer din, from the body aches and having to go to class after, lahat ng pagod. I know naman na, in the end, it’s all worth it.”

Lopez, on the other hand, enjoys the thrill of the training. “[I] like to hear about my times. [Whether] it’s going up or going down, it doesn’t matter, because in the end, I was [making] an effort. Tapos tumatawa din naman ako because, ‘I just did that.’ I guess UPVST has also motivated me kase nafefeel ko na sobrang uplifting ng energy nila. Kahit individual sport […] the whole team just wants to go up together.”

Pogiongko added, “I try to approach yung training ko as ‘you just have to finish this day.’ But not in the [sense] of ‘I just want to get through this,’ it’s like, you’re there na, you might as well do your best, might as well go all out.”

Finally, Dela Torre incorporates the spirit of “no pain, no gain” in her training, expressing that, “I try to push myself and think that everything will come back to me, every suffering, [every] iyak, yung pain — mawawala lang naman yan. Pain is temporary, pero yung experiences will stay forever.”

Ahead of Season 87, the team wants more people to look beyond the surface and discover the depths of their sport.

“It’s a team sport as much as it is an individual sport,” said Pogiongko. “Since training is probably the biggest portion of your whole swimming career, you won’t be able to push yourself if it wasn’t for your teammates beside you. […] There’s always a healthy rivalry during training. So, as much as it’s an individual sport, it’s also a team sport.”

“I just wish people gave swimming a chance,” admitted Buico. “Isa lang din sa mga wish ko is for more people to come and watch us and be more engaged with the sport and to at least give it a chance.”

“Swimming is just as fun as any other sport,” said Dela Torre. “The thrill is different when you look at it from a different perspective. […] Swimming isn’t just ‘swimming from one end to the other,’ you [get to] see the crowd go wild as they’re cheering for their respective universities. So, I think it’s different, [but] as a swimmer, I hope they see it in a different light.”

“All sports are equally difficult depending on how you move or how you train,” stated Lopez. “[…] Gusto ko lang ipakita sa mga tao na swimming is literally one of the best sports that you can do.”

“Swimming is full of athletes na passionate sa ginagawa nila,” declared Fernandez. “I think [it’s] worth watching them and [supporting them].”

Season 87 will be a chance for the UPVST-W to defend their championship and bring victory to the university once more. Embodying the UAAP motto of “stronger, better, together,” they declare that spectators should expect for them to be a stronger team with better performances and better teamwork.

“I expect for us to have a stronger bond, [that] together we can make it, as one,” stated Lopez.

Photo by: Charmagne Feria

Learn more about the UP Varsity Swim Team – Women’s on #HypeUp, available now on the UP Fight Club’s YouTube page. Watch Part 1 and Part 2 here.