Varsity Blues' Masse named ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS female athlete of the week

OTTAWA (CIS) – Swimmers Kylie Masse from the University of Toronto and Keegan Zanatta from the University of British Columbia are the ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS female and male athletes of the week for the period ending Feb. 28, 2016.

Masse, a second-year kinesiology major from LaSalle, Ont., was named the CIS female swimmer of the year at the national championships in Quebec City after she led the Varsity Blues women to their first team title since 1997 and collected seven podium finishes in as many events, including four gold medals, three long-course meet records and a new Canadian standard. The 5-foot-8 sophomore set long-course championship marks in all three backstroke finals (including a Canadian-record time of 27.84 seconds on 50 metres), also triumphed in the 4x100 freestyle relay, and added a trio of silver medals in the 200 IM, 4x200 free and 4x100 medley. Masse had also claimed seven medals in as many finals (0-4-3) a year ago in her first CIS championship appearance on her way to first-team all-Canadian status.

Bridget Brennan, a track and field standout from St. Francis Xavier, as well as swimmers Sophie Marois of Montreal and Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson of UBC were also nominated for the women's award.

Zanatta, a fourth-year arts student from Victoria, was selected as the CIS male swimmer of the year thanks to his four-medal performance, including three gold and one silver, as well as a long-course championship record. The three-time all-Canadian set a new national meet mark of 1:50.28 in the 200-metre freestyle, also topped the field in the 400 free and the 4x200 free relay, and helped the Thunderbirds' 4x100 free relay to a second-place finish. The UBC men took second place behind Toronto in the team standings.

Dalhousie track star Matthew Coolen, Laval swimmer Pascal-Hugo Caron-Cantin and Toronto swimmer Eli Wall were the other male nominees.

Female nominees:
AUS: Bridget Brennan, track and field, StFX
RSEQ: Sophie Marois, swimming, Montreal
OUA: Kylie Masse, swimming, Toronto (recipient)
CWUAA: Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, swimming, UBC

Male nominees:
AUS: Matthew Coolen, track and field, Dalhousie
RSEQ: Pascal-Hugo Caron-Cantin, swimming, Laval
OUA: Eli Wall, swimming, Toronto
CWUAA: Keegan Zanatta, swimming, UBC (recipient)