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The Berkeley swim team has a rough history, losing most of its league matches in the past few years. Going up against some of the best teams in the country, this year’s seniors have known very little victory. 

But that changed big time on Friday, as the ’Jackets won every race but one against El Cerrito. With the exception of the boys’ 50-meter freestyle, Berkeley dominated the meet, their first in the ACCAL. 

“This is a very new experience for us,” Berkeley coach Keith Brooks said. “Our experience in the last few years has been with the shoe on the other foot.” 

The ’Jackets swept the top spots in 19 different races. A typical race had three Berkeley swimmers well in front, racing each other, as the El Cerrito swimmers flailed away behind them. 

“It’s nice to win and be able to care about the score,” Berkeley senior Joe Ravera said. “Freshman through junior year, we just thought the score didn’t matter because we were used to losing.” 

The ’Jackets do expect more competition from their ACCAL opponents, especially Alameda. 

“I don’t think El Cerrito is representative of the competition in the ACCAL,” Ravera said. “There are some teams that will be pretty good.” 

Standouts on Friday included Raymond Chetty, who won the 200-meter freestyle by nearly 10 seconds, and Joel Fathree, who won the 200-meter individual medley and the 500-meter freestyle. On the girls’ side, Sallie Otto won the 200-meter medley and 100-meter freestyle, and Marissa Root won the 100-meter butterfly and 500-meter freestyle.