February 22, 2013
CIS swimming championships: Toronto men, Western women sit third after day one
CALGARY (CIS) – The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds lead the way after Day 1 of the 2013 CIS Swimming Championships at the University of Calgary Aquatic Centre – though while their advantage in the women’s standings is a healthy one, the men’s race is shaping up to be a classic.
While the defending champion Thunderbirds hold a 232-184 lead over second-place Calgary in the women’s standings, their margin is a razor-thin eight points on the men’s side. Calgary sits at 168 points, eight back of UBC, with Toronto also in the conversation with 163 points as the three traditional CIS swimming powerhouses duke it out.
Laval (80 points) and Alberta (78) round out the top five in the men’s standings, while Western (83), Toronto (74), and Montreal (69) trail UBC and Alberta on the women’s side.
We know this is going to be a battle on the men’s side, tooth and nail,” said second-year UBC head coach Steve Price. “To be in front is just great – it means we’re in the meet. There’s a lot of swimming left, but we’ve put ourselves in a good position.
“It was a solid start for our women,” Price went on. “There were a few races I thought we should have taken top spot, but we’ll take the points right now. There’s some work to do to meet their potential, but so far I’m happy with how things have gone.”
It was a quick start to the meet with four CIS championship records falling on the opening day – including the longest-standing mark in the book. UBC’s Coleman Allen touched the wall in 51.88 seconds in the 100-metre butterfly, lowering the record set by Calgary’s Tom Ponting all the way back in 1989 by nearly three quarters of a second.
It was the second time on the day that Allen had broken Ponting’s record, also beating it in the morning preliminary session. His swim in the 100 fly came just minutes after capturing another gold medal, this time in the 200-metre freestyle.
“It was a good day, but a hard one,” said Allen, who hails from Spokane, Wash. “I was pretty stressed out this morning, but I just relied on the training I’ve had and tried to clear my head and swim smart. Needless to say, it worked out really well.”
Toronto’s Zack Chetrat, the silver medallist in the 100 butterfly, also came in under Ponting’s 1989 record time.
Allen’s Thunderbird teammate Kelly Aspinall also broke a CIS championship record twice on the day, lowering the mark in the 50-metre backstroke in both the preliminary and final races. Aspinall’s new CIS mark is 24.05 seconds, two tenths faster than Calgary’s Chris Renaud’s 1997 record.
The other two meet records to fall came courtesy the host Dinos. In the men’s 100-metre breaststroke, fifth-year Dino Jason Block won his fourth consecutive CIS gold medal with his time of 59.08 seconds. The previous mark of 59.34 was set by UBC’s Scott Dickens, the last man to win the event before Block’s four-year run, back in 2009.
“I’ve been chasing that record for a number of years, and it felt good to finally get it,” said Calgary native Block. “Especially to do it in my last year, at home, it meant a lot.”
While Block is capping his CIS career this weekend, teammate Tianna Rissling is just starting hers – and turning heads on the way. In the women’s 400-metre individual medley, Rissling took off in the breaststroke leg and cruised to a five-second victory for the gold medal. In the process, the Canada West rookie of the year lowered the 10-year-old CIS mark set by Toronto’s Liz Warden by four tenths, touching the wall in 4:37.81. Rissling also captured a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke.
“I knew I was close to it coming in, but that wasn’t really what I was shooting for,” explained Rissling, who hails from Redcliff, Alta. “I was mostly just seeing where I was with that race. But getting the record is definitely a good accomplishment.”
Rissling’s teammates won the women’s 4x100-metre freestyle relay to cap the night, with the team of Erica Morningstar, Amanda Reason, Lindsay Delmar, and Fiona Doyle out-touching UBC’s foursome by more than two seconds. In the men’s relay, the Thunderbirds squad of Kelly Aspinall, Luke Peddie, Sergey Holson, and Allen beat out the Dinos by nearly a second and a half to claim gold – and an important four extra points in the team standings.
Calgary and UBC combined for nine of the 12 gold medals available on Day 1. For the host Dinos, Delmar opened with a title in the women’s 200-metre freestyle, with Doyle joining her atop the podium after winning the 100-metre breaststroke.
The two-school stranglehold on the top step of the podium was broken by a trio of swimmers. Montreal’s Gabrielle Soucisse captured gold in the women’s 50-metre backstroke, nudging UBC’s Grainne Pierse by just two one-hundredths. In the women’s 100-metre butterfly, Guelph’s Alisha Harricharan took home gold with her time of 59.72.
And in the men’s 400-metre individual medley, McGill star Steven Bielby captured his third gold medal in four years in a time of 4:15.14.
The 2013 CIS Swimming Championships continue Friday with preliminaries set for 10 a.m. MT with finals slated for 6 p.m. MT.
NOTE: All morning and evening sessions are webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv. Live results are also available on the championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim/index.
DAY 1 TEAM STANDINGS
Women
1. UBC, 232 points
2. Calgary, 184
3. Western, 83
4. Toronto, 74
5. Montreal, 69
6. Dalhousie, 66.5
7. Laval, 64
8. Alberta, 51
9. Guelph, 48
9. UQTR, 48
11. McMaster, 43.5
12. Victoria, 35
13. McGill, 34
14. Ottawa, 19
15. Wilfrid Laurier, 11
16. Laurentian, 7
17. UQAM, 5
17. Sherbrooke, 5
19. Manitoba, 4
Men (Nelson C. Hart trophy)
1. UBC, 176 points
2. Calgary, 168
3. Toronto, 163
4. Laval, 80
5. Alberta, 78
6. Victoria, 73
7. McGill, 63
8. McMaster, 62
9. Montreal, 45
10. Dalhousie, 42
11. Western, 40
11. Lethbridge, 40
12. Ottawa, 17
14. Manitoba, 14
15. Guelph, 8
16. Waterloo, 5
17. Regina, 3
18. Acadia, 2
DAY 1 INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS (Thursday)
Women 200m Free
1. Lindsay Delmar, Calgary, 1:58.46
2. Heather MacLean, UBC, 1:59.19
3. Savannah King, UBC, 1:59.54
Men 200m Free
1. Coleman Allen, UBC, 1:46.40
2. David Woodman, Calgary, 1:47.39
3. Keegan Zanatta, Victoria, 1:47.52
W 50m Back
1. Gabrielle Soucisse, Montreal, 28.03
2. Grainne Pierse, UBC, 28.05
3. Andrea Jurenovskis, Toronto, 28.30
M 50m Back
1. Kelly Aspinall, UBC, 24.05 (CIS Championship Record)
2. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 24.56
3. Russell Wood, Calgary, 24.64
W 100m Breast
1. Fiona Doyle, Calgary, 1:06.57
2. Tianna Rissling, Calgary, 1:06.72
3. Tera Van Beilen, UBC, 1:06.80
M 100m Breast
1. Jason Block, Calgary, 59.08 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Konrad Bald, McMaster, 1:00.14
3. Kevin Deret, Laval, 1:00.88
W 100m Fly
1. Alisha Harricharan, Guelph, 59.72
2. Kendra Chernoff, Alberta, 59.77
3. Alana Skocdopole, Calgary, 1:01.17
M 100m Fly
1. Coleman Allen, UBC, 51.88 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Zach Chetrat, Toronto, 52.58
3. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 53.07
W 400m IM
1. Tianna Rissling, Calgary, 4:37.81 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Vanessa Treasure, Toronto, 4:42.88
3. Katie Caldwell, McGill, 4:44.83
M 400m IM
1. Steven Bielby, McGill, 4:15.14
2. Jeremie Holdom, Toronto, 4:19.67
3. Patrick Cowan, UBC, 4:20.21
W 4 x 100m Free Relay
1. Calgary 3:40.34
(Erica Morningstar, Amanda Reason, Lindsay Delmar, Fiona Doyle)
2. UBC 3:42.47
(Heather McLean, Rebecca Terejko, Brittney Harley, Fionnuala Pierse)
3. McMaster 3:45.45
(Emma Mittermaier, Sarah Taylor, Emily Fung, Meg Sloan)
M 4 x 100m Free Relay
1. UBC 3:15.53
(Kelly Aspinall, Luke Peddie, Sergey Holson, Coleman Allen)
2. Calgary 3:16.94
(David Woodman, Russell Wood, Connor Maxey, Bryan Wray)
3. Toronto 3:18.40
(Mike Smerek, Brian Lee, Luke Hall, Matthew Myers)
Source: CIS
While the defending champion Thunderbirds hold a 232-184 lead over second-place Calgary in the women’s standings, their margin is a razor-thin eight points on the men’s side. Calgary sits at 168 points, eight back of UBC, with Toronto also in the conversation with 163 points as the three traditional CIS swimming powerhouses duke it out.
Laval (80 points) and Alberta (78) round out the top five in the men’s standings, while Western (83), Toronto (74), and Montreal (69) trail UBC and Alberta on the women’s side.
We know this is going to be a battle on the men’s side, tooth and nail,” said second-year UBC head coach Steve Price. “To be in front is just great – it means we’re in the meet. There’s a lot of swimming left, but we’ve put ourselves in a good position.
“It was a solid start for our women,” Price went on. “There were a few races I thought we should have taken top spot, but we’ll take the points right now. There’s some work to do to meet their potential, but so far I’m happy with how things have gone.”
It was a quick start to the meet with four CIS championship records falling on the opening day – including the longest-standing mark in the book. UBC’s Coleman Allen touched the wall in 51.88 seconds in the 100-metre butterfly, lowering the record set by Calgary’s Tom Ponting all the way back in 1989 by nearly three quarters of a second.
It was the second time on the day that Allen had broken Ponting’s record, also beating it in the morning preliminary session. His swim in the 100 fly came just minutes after capturing another gold medal, this time in the 200-metre freestyle.
“It was a good day, but a hard one,” said Allen, who hails from Spokane, Wash. “I was pretty stressed out this morning, but I just relied on the training I’ve had and tried to clear my head and swim smart. Needless to say, it worked out really well.”
Toronto’s Zack Chetrat, the silver medallist in the 100 butterfly, also came in under Ponting’s 1989 record time.
Allen’s Thunderbird teammate Kelly Aspinall also broke a CIS championship record twice on the day, lowering the mark in the 50-metre backstroke in both the preliminary and final races. Aspinall’s new CIS mark is 24.05 seconds, two tenths faster than Calgary’s Chris Renaud’s 1997 record.
The other two meet records to fall came courtesy the host Dinos. In the men’s 100-metre breaststroke, fifth-year Dino Jason Block won his fourth consecutive CIS gold medal with his time of 59.08 seconds. The previous mark of 59.34 was set by UBC’s Scott Dickens, the last man to win the event before Block’s four-year run, back in 2009.
“I’ve been chasing that record for a number of years, and it felt good to finally get it,” said Calgary native Block. “Especially to do it in my last year, at home, it meant a lot.”
While Block is capping his CIS career this weekend, teammate Tianna Rissling is just starting hers – and turning heads on the way. In the women’s 400-metre individual medley, Rissling took off in the breaststroke leg and cruised to a five-second victory for the gold medal. In the process, the Canada West rookie of the year lowered the 10-year-old CIS mark set by Toronto’s Liz Warden by four tenths, touching the wall in 4:37.81. Rissling also captured a silver medal in the 100-metre breaststroke.
“I knew I was close to it coming in, but that wasn’t really what I was shooting for,” explained Rissling, who hails from Redcliff, Alta. “I was mostly just seeing where I was with that race. But getting the record is definitely a good accomplishment.”
Rissling’s teammates won the women’s 4x100-metre freestyle relay to cap the night, with the team of Erica Morningstar, Amanda Reason, Lindsay Delmar, and Fiona Doyle out-touching UBC’s foursome by more than two seconds. In the men’s relay, the Thunderbirds squad of Kelly Aspinall, Luke Peddie, Sergey Holson, and Allen beat out the Dinos by nearly a second and a half to claim gold – and an important four extra points in the team standings.
Calgary and UBC combined for nine of the 12 gold medals available on Day 1. For the host Dinos, Delmar opened with a title in the women’s 200-metre freestyle, with Doyle joining her atop the podium after winning the 100-metre breaststroke.
The two-school stranglehold on the top step of the podium was broken by a trio of swimmers. Montreal’s Gabrielle Soucisse captured gold in the women’s 50-metre backstroke, nudging UBC’s Grainne Pierse by just two one-hundredths. In the women’s 100-metre butterfly, Guelph’s Alisha Harricharan took home gold with her time of 59.72.
And in the men’s 400-metre individual medley, McGill star Steven Bielby captured his third gold medal in four years in a time of 4:15.14.
The 2013 CIS Swimming Championships continue Friday with preliminaries set for 10 a.m. MT with finals slated for 6 p.m. MT.
NOTE: All morning and evening sessions are webcast live on www.CIS-SIC.tv. Live results are also available on the championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim/index.
DAY 1 TEAM STANDINGS
Women
1. UBC, 232 points
2. Calgary, 184
3. Western, 83
4. Toronto, 74
5. Montreal, 69
6. Dalhousie, 66.5
7. Laval, 64
8. Alberta, 51
9. Guelph, 48
9. UQTR, 48
11. McMaster, 43.5
12. Victoria, 35
13. McGill, 34
14. Ottawa, 19
15. Wilfrid Laurier, 11
16. Laurentian, 7
17. UQAM, 5
17. Sherbrooke, 5
19. Manitoba, 4
Men (Nelson C. Hart trophy)
1. UBC, 176 points
2. Calgary, 168
3. Toronto, 163
4. Laval, 80
5. Alberta, 78
6. Victoria, 73
7. McGill, 63
8. McMaster, 62
9. Montreal, 45
10. Dalhousie, 42
11. Western, 40
11. Lethbridge, 40
12. Ottawa, 17
14. Manitoba, 14
15. Guelph, 8
16. Waterloo, 5
17. Regina, 3
18. Acadia, 2
DAY 1 INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS (Thursday)
Women 200m Free
1. Lindsay Delmar, Calgary, 1:58.46
2. Heather MacLean, UBC, 1:59.19
3. Savannah King, UBC, 1:59.54
Men 200m Free
1. Coleman Allen, UBC, 1:46.40
2. David Woodman, Calgary, 1:47.39
3. Keegan Zanatta, Victoria, 1:47.52
W 50m Back
1. Gabrielle Soucisse, Montreal, 28.03
2. Grainne Pierse, UBC, 28.05
3. Andrea Jurenovskis, Toronto, 28.30
M 50m Back
1. Kelly Aspinall, UBC, 24.05 (CIS Championship Record)
2. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 24.56
3. Russell Wood, Calgary, 24.64
W 100m Breast
1. Fiona Doyle, Calgary, 1:06.57
2. Tianna Rissling, Calgary, 1:06.72
3. Tera Van Beilen, UBC, 1:06.80
M 100m Breast
1. Jason Block, Calgary, 59.08 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Konrad Bald, McMaster, 1:00.14
3. Kevin Deret, Laval, 1:00.88
W 100m Fly
1. Alisha Harricharan, Guelph, 59.72
2. Kendra Chernoff, Alberta, 59.77
3. Alana Skocdopole, Calgary, 1:01.17
M 100m Fly
1. Coleman Allen, UBC, 51.88 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Zach Chetrat, Toronto, 52.58
3. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 53.07
W 400m IM
1. Tianna Rissling, Calgary, 4:37.81 (CIS Championship Record)
2. Vanessa Treasure, Toronto, 4:42.88
3. Katie Caldwell, McGill, 4:44.83
M 400m IM
1. Steven Bielby, McGill, 4:15.14
2. Jeremie Holdom, Toronto, 4:19.67
3. Patrick Cowan, UBC, 4:20.21
W 4 x 100m Free Relay
1. Calgary 3:40.34
(Erica Morningstar, Amanda Reason, Lindsay Delmar, Fiona Doyle)
2. UBC 3:42.47
(Heather McLean, Rebecca Terejko, Brittney Harley, Fionnuala Pierse)
3. McMaster 3:45.45
(Emma Mittermaier, Sarah Taylor, Emily Fung, Meg Sloan)
M 4 x 100m Free Relay
1. UBC 3:15.53
(Kelly Aspinall, Luke Peddie, Sergey Holson, Coleman Allen)
2. Calgary 3:16.94
(David Woodman, Russell Wood, Connor Maxey, Bryan Wray)
3. Toronto 3:18.40
(Mike Smerek, Brian Lee, Luke Hall, Matthew Myers)
Source: CIS
