Laurentian women claim third straight deBray Divisional Swimming Championship

The deBray Divisional Swimming Championships wrapped up on Sunday at Laurentian and the story was a familiar one. 

For the third consecutive year the Waterloo men's team claimed the banner with 1057.5 points as the hometown Voyageurs (662) and the Laurier Golden Hawks (524) rounded out the top 3. On the women's side, it was Laurentian also completing a three-peat of their own with a total of 998 points.  They were followed by Waterloo (683.5) and Laurier (611.5)

For the Voyageurs, the men's team was highlighted by Zach Shalovsky and Matt Schouten.  Shalovsky tallied first place finishes in the 50m backstroke and the 100m backstroke and added a 2^nd place finish in the 200m backstroke.  Schouten claimed 1^st place in the 50m and 100m freestyle and added second place finishes in the 50m backstroke and the 50m butterfly.

On the women's side, the Voyageurs were paced to victory by Riley Konrad, Cassandra Drescher and Kiana Deland.  Konrad had first place finishes in the 200m IM and the 400m IM and added a 3^rd place finish in the 100m butterfly.  Drescher, a rookie, had first place finishes in the 100m and 200m freestyle races while Deland claimed first in the 800m free, 2^nd in the 400m free and 3^rd in the 200m free and 200m breaststroke.

Full results can be found at http://results.teamunify.com/canslsc/.

The Voyageurs are now off for the Christmas exam break and will dive back into competition in January as they gear up for the OUA Championships.

Source: Laurentian Voyageurs

Waterloo men win third straight deBray Divisional Championship

OUA swimming has a year end focus in the conference meet with all 12 teams in February closely followed by the U Sports national championships.

Stiff qualifying standards limit the participation at the U Sport meet. The whole team competes in the conference meet. As a prelude to the season ending championship the OUA runs a Divisional championship at the end of November. Schools are split with the top 5 teams racing in one division and Waterloo is joined by 6 other schools in the other division. This year the meet was in Sudbury with more than 200 swimmers fighting for the men's and women's team banners.

Day 1

The Warrior men showed up at Laurentian as the favourites to defend their two year winning streak at the deBray Divisional champs. They did not disappoint with a strong showing on day 1 including 3 wins in 9 events. Jonathan Ramkissoon (Trinidad) captured the 100 breast in a swift 1:01.73. This time is a meet record and qualifies Jon for the U Sport champs in Sherbrooke in February. Aidan Chow (Aurora)'s 55.74 in the 100 fly is a Warrior team record and a meet record. Finally, Mackenzie Goodwin (Waterloo) showed his range winning the 400 IM in 4:41. The men's team also posted a team record in the 4 X 50 free relay with 1:34.30 clocking.

Eight times moved onto the Warrior all time top 10 list. Mackenzie, Jon and Aidan all jumped up in their winning events. Mackenzie added a 9th ever placing in the 100 breast. Rookie Leon Ouyang (Windsor) moved to 4th in the 50 back and Mitchell Krafczek (Georgetown) is now 6th in the same event. Zao Chen (Ottawa) is now 9th in the 200 free. Baby faced Michael Jans (Georgetown) had a couple of great swims and finished 2nd in the 1500 free with a time that now places him 6th in Warrior history.

Not to be out done the Waterloo women showed up to face the defending champion Voyageurs on their home turf. Last year the Warriors were 3rd at the meet and after day 1 they are 2nd. Laurentian is well in front in the team race but the battle for 2nd is very close with Waterloo, Queens and Laurier all within a few points.

Josie Andres (Thorndale) had two excellent swims – her 50 free of 26.58 is a team record and qualifies Josie for U Sports champs. She also posted a very strong 1:03.65 in the 100 fly. Both swims were good for 2nd. Besides Josie eight other swims moved into the all time top 10. The women's 4 X 50 free relay of Michelle Cheng (Markham), Tamara Shaw (Ottawa), Olivia Kelly (Oshawa) and Frances Heather (Waterloo) posted the 3rd fastest time in Warrior history. Tamara also moved to 5th in the 50 free. Michelle and Olivia are now 5th and 8th respectively in the 100 breast. Three women jumped into the 100 fly rankings with Brianna Coens (Kingston) (6th), Nicole Nowicki (Toronto) (8th) and Emmy Kucheran (9th) showing best ever depth for Waterloo. Finally, Lou-Salome Chou (Shanghai) is now 2nd in the 50 back.

Day 2

The second day of deBray Divisional champs showed a lot of strength and resilience in the group. Three tough days of racing with travel to Sudbury to add to the stress resulted in fast, quality performances that will stand up well at the end of the year.

The men were able to expand their margin and eventually won their side of the meet for the third year in a row. The final scores were Waterloo 1057.5, Laurentian 662 and Laurier 524.

The Warriors won 5 of 10 events on Sunday. The 200 medley relay was first up and the Warrior did not disappoint with one of the leading times in the country this year of 1:42.94. Peter Li (Oakville) continued the roll with a win in the first individual event of the day – the 200 IM in 2:10.05. Mackenzie Goodwin (Waterloo) continued his good weekend with a 2:20.17 lifetime best to capture the 200 breast. This event was a sweep for the Warriors with Jon Ramkissoon in 2nd and Justin Dumouchelle (LaSalle) 3rd. Aidan Chow (Aurora) narrowly missed his U Sport qualifying standard capturing the 50 fly in 25.46. Jon Ramkissoon was back on the top of the podium in the 50 breast to round out the gold medal haul.

Arguably the best race of the weekend was the final relay battle between Laurentian and Waterloo in the men's 4 X 100 free. The Warriors lowered their team record by more than 1.5 seconds with a 3:28.0 swim but were narrowly defeated by the Voyageurs. The lead changed several times through the race and it was a fantastic way to end the weekend. Peter Li (Oakville), Danyon Chu (Unionville), Zao Chen (Ottawa) and Eric Woolven (Toronto) are the new record holders.

Other top ten all time swims for the Warriors included Peter Li (Oakville) moving to 4th all time in the 100 free(51.74); Leon Ouyang (Windsor) squeezing into 10th in the 100 back (59.84); Mackenzie's 200 breast was good for 7th; and the 200 medley relay is the 2nd fastest ever.

The women's team was fantastic on Sunday. This is the biggest and deepest team that Waterloo has had in several years and it showed. Good swims came in all events. Continued improvements will be necessary to make a jump at the conference and national level but the base is building. The team scores finished Laurentian 998, Waterloo 683.5 and Laurier 611.5.

In the all time team rankings; Josie Andres (Thorndale) broke through with a win, team record and U Sport qualifying time in the 50 fly (28.23) and followed that up with the 2nd fastest Warrior swim ever in the 100 free (58.15). The 200 medley relay team of Lou-Salome Chou (Shanghai), Michelle Cheng (Markham), Josie and Tamara Shaw (Ottawa) took more than a second off the team record placing 2nd (1:57.85). Nicole Nowicki (Toronto) jumped to 3rd all time in the 200 IM with a 2:24.96 clocking. Lou-Salome is now 3rd in the 100 back (1:06.45) while Olivia Kelly (Oshawa) moved to 7th in the 50 breast (35.41) and 8th in the 200 breast (2:43.96). Michelle Cheng (Markham) posted the 3rd fastest 50 breast (34.23). In the final event, 4 X 100 free relay, the 4:01.20 clocking was good for 4th all time.

The team races once more before the exam break on Saturday at Brock.

Source: Waterloo Warriors