Championships Swimming

Men’s Swimming

Making a Splash! Dalhousie takes the crown in the water

U SPORTS Staff

The Dalhousie Tigers were the only men’s and women’s teams to eclipse the 900-point mark at the AUS swimming championships hosted by Memorial University last weekend. With 930.5 points, the women extended their championship win streak to an impressive 21 years in a row, and the men, with 968 points, took home their second consecutive AUS title.

It did not take long for the champion Tigers to make a statement as the Dalhousie women swept the medals in the 400-metre freestyle. Raegan Crowell made easy work of the competition, cruising to a 4:16.57 first-place finish, teammate Sophie Idle finished second in 4:29.49, and Abbey Nichols clocked a time of 4:31.74 to take third place. Crowell claimed another gold medal in the 200-metre freestyle, clocking a time of 2:03.64.

The clean sweeps kept coming; in the men’s 200-metre butterfly, Freddy Chandler-Baas took home the gold in 2:03.83, Isaac Bahler was second in a time of 2:04.12, and Will Myrer grabbed third with a time of 2:07.90.

Noah Mascoll-Gomes was victorious in the 200-metre freestyle, completing the race in a time of 1:50.13. Mascoll-Gomes also earned the top spot in the 100-metre freestyle in 49.68 seconds.

Allison McCloy of the Tigers had a superb weekend, earning a gold in the 800-metre freestyle relay (8:30.04). More gold medals came to McCloy in the 200-metre butterfly, 400-metre individual medley and 200-metre breaststroke. All of McCloy’s individual finals times beat the U SPORTS standard to qualify for nationals.

The Acadia Axewomen (692.5 points) went 1-2 in the 100-metre backstroke, with Sophie Rooney far ahead of the field, winning in a time of 1:01.93. Grace Earle snagged the second spot coming in at 1:04.69. The Axemen (860.5 points) had a 1-2 finishing of their own, with Dean Sangster’s winning time of 55.74 seconds, followed by Aaron Day in 56.63 seconds.

There was no shortage of medals for Gordon Shortt of the Axemen, who claimed first in the 50-metre breaststroke in a time of 28.53 and put on a spectacular performance in the 200-metre individual medley winning in 2:01.71. Shortt’s 100-metre breaststroke time of 1:03.20 was a full second quicker than Blake Kingston’s (UNB) second-place finish of 1:04.20.

Kingston would avenge his loss to Shortt, as the second-year student earned gold in the 200-metre backstroke in a time of 2:18.30, while Shortt completed the race in a time of 2:18.54. Rooney won the 200-metre backstroke on the women’s side with a blazing time of 2:13.62.

Acadia was at it again, taking the top spot in the men’s and women’s 400-metre medley relay. The Axewomen came out on top in a time of 4:19.03, and the team consisted of Sophie Rooney, Elisabeth Morrison, Kassidy Hamilton, and Grace Earle. The Axemen quartet was made up of Dean Sangster, Gordon Shortt, Shane Kenny, and Bo-Stokesbury-Price, who finished in 3:45.44.

Sangster won the 100-metre men’s backstroke in 55.74 seconds, and Shortt added to his medal collection, notching a victory in the 50-metre breaststroke (28.53 seconds). Morrison claimed another gold in the women’s 50-metre breaststroke clocking 33.05 seconds, and just behind her was freshmen Jordan Thomas of Mount Allison with a time of 33.12. Placing third was another freshman, Kate Tuck of the Tigers, finishing in 33.28 seconds.

The women’s and men’s 100-metre butterfly were won by Acadia swimmers Hamilton (1:03.32) and Kenny (54.87).

The UNB REDS earned a gold medal in the 50-metre freestyle thanks to Jennifer Moore, who swam to a time of 26.64 seconds.

Memorial University swimmer Marcella Whelan was a key contributor on the Seahawks women’s squad, winning the 400-metre individual medley in 4:32.87 and taking second place in the 200-metre individual medley clocking in at 2:06.78.

Overall team rankings

Women’s:

  1. Dalhousie University Swim Team – 930.5 points
  2. Acadia University – 692.5 points
  3. Memorial University Seahawks – 623 points
  4. University of New Brunswick – 460 points
  5. Mount Allison Mounties – 265 points

Men’s:

  1. Dalhousie University Swim Team – 968 points
  2. Acadia University – 860.5 points
  3. Memorial University Seahawks – 519.5 points
  4. University of New Brunswick – 374 points
  5. Mount Allison Mounties – 195 points