February 5, 2013
Blues set to host 2012-13 OUA swimming championships
HAMILTON, Ont. – Elite swimmers from around the province will descend on the University of Toronto on Thursday, February 7 to compete at the OUA swimming championships at the University of Toronto Varsity Pool. Racing will continue until Saturday, February 9 when the event will culminate with the team trophy and banner presentations.
Live results, video streaming and ticket information can be found at the championship website: www.varsityblues.ca/ouaswim.
Thirteen teams will be vying for both the men’s and women’s OUA swim banners, but it will take a number of impressive performances to knock off perennial men’s champions Toronto, and four-time consecutive winners Western on the women’s side.
Fifth-year veteran Mike Smerek and fourth-year standout Zack Chetrat lead Toronto’s men. Smerek (St. Catharines, Ont.) is the reigning OUA 50 and 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle champion and was named U of T’s male athlete of the year last season. Chetrat returns to the championship after a one-year hiatus. The Oakville, Ont., native won the 100 and 200 butterfly events, as well as the 400 freestyle two years ago. He too was named U of T’s male athlete of the year in 2011.
Frank Despond, Jeremie Holdom and Matt Myers will compete to defend their respective titles this weekend. Despond (Millgrove, Ont.) took the top prize in the 400 freestyle, while Holdom (Toronto) won the 200 breaststroke last season. Myers, the 2012 OUA male rookie of the year, is after a repeat performance in the 200 backstroke.
There are four teams that will be likely to challenge for the remaining podium positions – McMaster, Western, Ottawa and Guelph – and all have been mentioned in the national rankings at one point this season.
The McMaster Marauders swam away with OUA silver in 2012 and have been a part of the CIS top ten for the majority of the season. Cameron Bailey (Hamilton, Ont.) returns to the team for his fourth year and is looking to three-peat as the Dr. Jeno Tihanyi award winner for medley swimming excellence. The 2012 CIS second team all-Canadian will be joined in the pool by all-star team mates Ben Stubbs (Markham, Ont.) and Konrad Bald (Beamsville, Ont.) as the Marauders make another run for the podium.
The Western Mustangs enter the championship No. 7, and are one of three OUA teams that hold a place in the national rankings heading into this weekend. Led by third-year all-Canadian Robert Wise (Dorchester, Ont.), the Mustangs will be looking to trade their bronze medals in for a new colour this season. In a recent dual meet with Toronto Wise finished with two first place results, one in the men's 800 M freestyle as well as the 200 M freestyle event.
The Guelph Gryphons were shut out of the medals last season and will look to veteran Matthew Stephenson (Brantford, Ont.) to lead them to a place on the podium. Stephenson will have the help of rookie powerhouse Evan Van Moerkerke (Tillsonburg, Ont.). The first-year freestyle specialist broke the very challenging 23 second barrier in the 50 metre at November’s Canada Cup and has been faring well in his first year of OUA competition and will likely challenge for rookie of the year honours.
Rounding out the medal favourites are the Ottawa Gee-Gees. The Gee-Gees peaked at No. 7 in the opening rankings, but have since fallen out of the top ten. Fourth-year Adam Best (Victoria, B.C.) earned silver and bronze in the backstroke last season, and recently bettered those results at the prestigious Ontario Cup. Best narrowly defeated OUA competition by .03 seconds at the University of Toronto meet, and will challenge the boys in Blue this weekend.
On the women’s side, the Western Mustangs are gunning to capture their fifth consecutive OUA banner. After losing veteran powerhouse and OUA all-star Hayley Nell, the Mustangs will rely on members of their gold medal relay team from a year ago; Jennifer Trung (Maple, Ont.), Shannon Nell (London, Ont.), Katie Bell (Collingwood, Ont.) and Ashleigh Dunnington (Prescott, Ont.).
Rookie Emma Sproule (Calgary, Alta.) set a new school record in the 200 metre backstroke and is poised to make waves at this weekend’s championship. Despite returning a strong class, the Mustangs fell short of the national rankings for the majority of the season, finally peaking at No. 8 in the final ranking before championship.
If any school can put an end to Western’s reign, it’s likely to be the host side. Toronto’s women look to third-year Vanessa Treasure and veteran Andrea Jurenovskis to lead the team. A native of Mississauga, Ont., Treasure was named the 2012 OUA female swimmer of the year after winning four gold medals in the 100 and 200 individual medley and 100 metre and 200 metre breaststroke events.
Jurenovskis looks to end her already-successful varsity career with a bang. The Timmins, Ont., native is the reigning 50 and 100 backstroke champion and has earned eight OUA individual titles in the past four years.
Second-year standouts Margot Cunningham and Bridget Coley vie to defend their 200 backstroke and 800 freestyle titles, respectively. Coley was also named the OUA female rookie of the year last season. The Blues spent the entire season ranked in the top five of the national rankings, and enter this weekend’s competition sitting at No. 3.
The 2012-13 season has been strong for the women from McMaster, and the No. 9 ranked Marauders are ready to make another push for the podium. Last year’s bronze medal winning squad features veterans Sarah Taylor (Stittsville, Ont.) and Alexandra Van Ommen (Barrie, Ont.). Gold eluded Taylor at last year’s championship meet, but she collected four silver medals and is considered a contender in the 100 metre free and the 50 metre butterfly. Teammate Van Ommen medaled in the breaststroke last season.
The Marauder women’s 200 metre medley relay came up close last season, finishing less than a second behind the champions from Western. The silver-medal squad returns the entire relay lineup this weekend.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees were relegated to fourth place last season, more than 100 points behind the third place Marauders. Entering the OUA championship unranked on the top ten poll, the Gee-Gees have an outside shot at a spot on the podium. Third-year Eryn Weldon (Moncton, N.B.) took home silver in the 200 metre medley and 200 metre breaststroke and will be after gold in Toronto. The Gee-Gees also boast strong freestyle and medley relay teams, and with a returning core of Nicole Lachance (Edmonton, Alta.), Taylor Moore (Regina, Sask.) and Weldon, they are expected to perform well once again.
Guelph’s Alisha Harrichan (Brampton, Ont.) set the OUA record in the 100 metre butterfly (1:00:32) at last year’s championship and bettered that mark by a full second at the recent Canada Cup. The third-year swimmer was a CIS all-Canadian and has the ability to continue to make her mark on the OUA record book this weekend in Toronto.
Other teams competing at this year’s championship include the Brock Badgers, Laurentian Voyageurs, Waterloo Warriors, Laurier Golden Hawks, Queen’s Gaels, Carleton Ravens, York Lions and Trent Excalibur.
Preliminary racing begins at 10 a.m. with the first finals session beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 7. The last races of the championships are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.
Check back at oua.ca for updates from the OUA Swimming Championships and for complete results following the meet. Each finals session will be webcast and is available at www.ssncanada.ca/games.
For more information visit www.varsityblues.ca/ouaswim.
