CIS athletes of the week (#21): UBC swimmers King, Aspinall honoured

OTTAWA (CIS) – Swimmers Savannah King and Kelly Aspinall, both from the University of British Columbia, are the CIS female and male athletes of the week for the period ending Feb. 24, 2013.

King, a third-year kinesiology student from Vernon, B.C., was named CIS female swimmer of the year for the second straight season following the national championships held in Calgary, where she helped the UBC women claim their second consecutive team title. The two-time Olympian captured four medals during the three-day meet, including gold in the 400 and 800-metre freestyle and the 4x200 free relay, as well as bronze in the 200 free. The 5-foot-10 junior merited MVP honours thanks for her times in the 400 (4:09.24) and 800 free (8:33.74).

UNB track athlete Sarah Myatt, UQTR swimmer Caroline Lapierre Lemire and McMaster basketball player Danielle Boiago were also nominated for the women’s award.

Aspinall, a fifth-year arts student from Nanoose Bay, B.C., was named male MVP in his final appearance at the CIS meet after he guided the Thunderbird men to a second-place finish and collected six medals, five of them gold. The 6-foot-4 senior earned the recognition thanks to his championship-record performances in the 50 and 100m backstroke (24.05 / 51.95). He was also victorious in the 50 freestyle and the 4x100 free and 4x100 medley relays, while taking second place in the 100 free.

Dalhousie pentathlete Rob McCulloch, McGill swimmer Steven Bielby and Toronto swimmer Zack Chetrat were the other male nominees.

Female nominees:
AUS: Sarah Myatt, track & field, UNB
RSEQ: Caroline Lapierre Lemire, swimming, UQTR
OUA: Danielle Boiago, basketball, McMaster
CWUAA: Savannah King, swimming, UBC (recipient)

Male nominees:
AUS: Rob McCulloch, track & field, Dalhousie
RSEQ: Steven Bielby, swimming, McGill
OUA: Zack Chetrat, swimming, Toronto
CWUAA: Kelly Aspinall, swimming, UBC (recipient)

-CIS-