Photo credit Hannah Liu Toronto Athletics
GUELPH, Ont. - The Toronto Varsity Blues men's team and Western Mustang women's team are off to a great start at the University of Guelph pool where the two teams have emerged as the leaders in the team standings after the first day of competition at the 2011 OUA Swimming Championships, Thursday.
For live results and webcast of finals:
http://gryphons.ca/sports/2011/2/8/SWIM_0208111133.aspx?id=39
Toronto leads the men's race after the first day with a point score of 299 total points. Third-year Zack Chetrat broke three OUA meet records en route to a triple gold-medal performance on only his first day of competition to lead the Varsity Blues. He picked up gold medals in the men's 400m freestyle, 200m butterfly and then anchored Toronto's 800m freestyle relay team to a first place finish. The Western Mustangs are second with 225 points while McMaster is third at 192.
In the women's competition, the Western Mustangs top the standings with 253.5 points. The Toronto Varsity Blues sit in second place with 245.5 points, while McMaster is third at 197.
The host Guelph Gryphons currently sit fifth in both the men's and women's team standings.
Starting the sessions off with some fast freestyle, the McMaster Mauraders won the women's 200m freestyle relay taking the gold medal with a time of 1:46.54. Silver went to the team of Toronto while Western finished third. The men's 200m freestyle relay gold medal went to Toronto, while McMaster finished second and the host Guelph Gryphons held on to take the bronze medal in an exciting race to start off the session.
In the first individual event of the night, Pamela Ruksys (Kingston, ON) took the women's 400m freestyle with a time of 4.15.46 followed by Western's Hayley Nell (London, ON) (4.18.92) and Molly Grove of Toronto (Edmonton, AB) (4.19.46).
The Mustangs battled the Varsity Blues in the men's 400m freestyle. Zack Chetrat (Oakville,ON) of Toronto prevailed with an impressive race from lane seven breaking the OUA record with a time of 3.51.59. Teammate Frank Despond (Hamilton, ON) took second place followed by Western's Robert Wise (Dorchester, ON). Toronto continues to prove their dominance in both the men's and women's freestyle events.
Dominating the 100m backstroke was Andrea Jurenovskis (Timmins, ON) of Toronto with a record breaking time of 1.00.63. The third-year was thirsty for revenge after last year's silver medal finish behind Jennifer Trung (Naple, ON) of Western. Trung finished well behind Jurenovskis for the silver medal, followed by her teammate Heather Martin (Etobicoke, ON) who took the bronze again this season.
The men's 100m backstroke proved to be a close race among other contenders in the pool. The Ottawa Gee Gees took to the podium as Matt Hawes (Ottawa, ON) won the gold medal and teammate Adam Best (Ottawa, ON) earned the bronze. Gryphon captain Benjamin Roberts (Kingston. ON) won the silver medal, improving his performance from last year.
In the women's 200m breastroke rookie Erin Macfadyn (Orillia, ON) of McMaster dominated from lane four to win gold with a time of 2:33.51. Paulyn Kilty (Newmarket, ON) of Western, who won the event last year, finished second while Margo Bacher (Cornwall, ON) from Queens won the bronze. Whitney Rich (Dorchester, ON) of Laurier, the silver medalist of last year, placed fourth.
Another OUA record was crushed by Bryn Jones (Newmarket, ON) of Western in the men's 200m breaststroke. Jones finished with a time of 2.13.44, defending his title from last year. Veteran teammate Jake Armstrong (Denfield, ON) finished third with a time of 2:15.77. The silver medalist was Waterloo's Weisley Greig (Arnprior, ON) at 2:15.15.
It was an exciting finish in the women's 200m butterfly as Western's Shannon Nell (London, ON) out-touched Toronto's Vanessa Treasure (Mississauga, ON) by 6-tenths of a second for the gold medal with a time of 2:14.33. Treasure finished with a time 2:14.93. Guelph's Alisha Harricharan was not far behind for the third place finish (2:17.90).
The Varsity Blues destroyed the 200m butterfly competition. Zach Chetrat broke his own OUA record with a time of 1.59.25, defending his gold medal title from last year. Teammate Curtis Samuel (Oakville, ON) captured the silver with a time of 2.01.43 while Ben Stubbs (Markham, ON) of McMaster was third at 2:02.68.
Hayley Nell, defending OUA champion of the women's 50m freestyle finished with the fastest time. The fourth-year finished with a time of 25.88 to defend her title. McMaster's Sarah Taylor (Stittsville, ON) (26.24) captured the silver medal and also defended her second-place finish from last year. Sprinter Chantique Payne (Brantford, ON) of the Guelph Gryphon took the bronze (26.34). Payne did not medal in this event last year, but will be ready to defend her title in 50m butterfly event later this week.
In the fastest race of the meet, the competition proved to be tough. Just milliseconds apart, Matthew Vogelzang (Waterford, ON) of McMaster won the men's 50m freestyle with a time of 23.43. He was followed closely behind by teammate Cameron Bailey (Hamilton, ON) (23.64), and Gryphon Wil Wright (Mississauga, ON) (23.65). Troy Baxter (Manotick, ON), a second year for the Gryphons, had a stellar performance in lane eight with a time of 23.69 reaching the CIS qualifying time of 23.83 and finishing fourth.
In the women's 800m freestyle relay, defending silver medalist Toronto battled it out with the Ottawa GeeGees throughout the race but Toronto yet again proved to be a stronger freestyle team. Toronto pulled ahead in the last 200 metres finishing first with a time of 8:18.62, just ahead of the GeeGees who were second at 8:22.00. The Guelph Gryphons held on to the very end, however finished behind the pack in sixth. The bronze medal was captured by the Western Mustangs, who won the title at last year's championship. The Mustangs hold the OUA record with a time of 8.13.47.
The Varsity Blue's finished the night off by breaking the OUA record in the men's 800m freestyle relay and captured the gold medal with a time of 7:27.15. The Ottawa GeeGees gave Toronto a great race throughout and finished in second at 7:31.93. McMaster followed closely behind finishing the race strong with a time of 7:34.15 taking the bronze.
RESULTS – DAY 1
Women's 200m Freestyle Relay
1. McMaster – 1:46.54 – (Brooke Buckland, Sarah Taylor,
Meg Sloan, Natasha Strass-Hundal)
2. Toronto – 1:46.75 – (Joyce Guo, Samantha Poon,
Andrea Jurenovskis, Paige Schultz)
3. Western – 1:47.15 (Katie Fox, Ashleigh Dunnington, Amber
Hutchinson, Melissa Loyzar)
Men's 200m Freestyle Relay
1. Toronto – 1:33.88 – (Steven Hibberd, Peter Kruzyk,
George Soules, Luke Hall)
2. McMaster – 1:34.02 (Matthew Vogelzang, David Landry,
Cameron Bailey, Jeff Braches)
3. Guelph – 1:34.30 (Chad Johnson, Troy Baxter, Chris Miller,
Jordan Duggan)
Women's 400m Freestyle
1. Pamela Ruksys, Toronto – 4:15.46
2. Hayley Nell, Western – 4:18.92
3. Molly Grove, Toronto – 4:19.46
Men's 400m Freestyle
1. Zack Chetrat, Toronto – 3:51.59 – MEET RECORD
(Previous Record: David Shemilt, Brock, 3:53.22 – 1985)
2. Frank Despond, Toronto – 3:55.01
3. Robert Wise, Western – 3:55.63
Women's 100m Backstroke
1. Andrea Jurenovskis, Toronto – 1:00.63 – MEET
RECORD
(Previous Record: Julie Howard, Toronto, 1:01.90 – 2001)
2. Jennifer Trung, Western – 1:02.87
3. Heather Martin, Western – 1:03.01
Men's 100m Backstroke
1. Matt Hawes, Ottawa – 54.16
2. Benjamin Roberts, Guelph – 55.40
3. Adam Best, Ottawa – 55.93
Women's 200m Breaststroke
1. Erin Macfadyen, McMaster – 2:33.51
2. Paulyne Kilty, Western – 2:34.89
3. Margo Bacher, Queens – 2:35.32
Men's 200m Breaststroke
1. Bryn Jones, Western – 2:13.44 – MEET RECORD
(Previous Record: Matt Mains, Waterloo, 2:13.72 – 2004)
2. Wesley Greig, Waterloo – 2:15.15
3. Jake Armstrong, Western – 2:15.77
Women's 200m Butterfly
1. Shannon Nell, Western – 2:14.33
2. Vanessa Treasure, Toronto – 2:14.93
3. Alysia Harricharan, Guelph – 2:17.90
Men's 200m Butterfly
1. Zack Chetrat, Toronto – 1:59.25 – MEET RECORD
(Previous Record: Zack Chetrat, Toronto, 2:00.27 – 2009)
2. Curtis Samuel, Toronto – 2:01.43
3. Ben Stubbs, McMaster – 2:02.68
Women's 50m Freestyle
1. Hayley Nell, Western – 25.88
2. Sarah Taylor, McMaster – 26.24
3. Chantique Payne, Guelph – 26.34
Men's 50m Freestyle
1. Matt Vogelzang, McMaster – 23.43
2. Cameron Bailey, McMaster – 23.64
3. Wil Wright, Guelph – 23.65
Women's 800m Freestyle Relay
1. Toronto – 8:18.62 (Heather Maitland, Molly Grove, Melanie
Davis, Pamela Ruksys)
2. Ottawa – 8:22.00 (Eryn Weldon, Nicole Lachance, Kara
Demers, Chantelle Boduel)
3. Western – 8:33.94 (Heather Martin, Paulyne Kilty, Elisa
Colantonio, Jasmin Gow)
Men's 8000m Freestyle Relay
1. Toronto – 7:27.15 (Curtis Samuel, Frank Despond, Andy
Townsend, Zack Chetrat)
*MEET RECORD (Previous Record: 7:29.57, McMaster – 1991)*
2. Ottawa – 7:31.93 (Matt Hawes, Adam Best, Stefan Ruksys,
Sean Dawson)
3. McMaster – 7:34.15 (Michael McDonald, Glendon Brown,
Cameron Bailey, Nathan Cox)
Team Standings – Day 1
Women
1. Western – 253.5
2. Toronto – 245.5
3. McMaster - 197
4. Ottawa - 171
5. Guelph - 93
6. Brock - 88
7. Laurier - 79
8. Laurentian - 59
9. Waterloo - 56
10. Queens - 46
11. Trent - 28
12. Carleton - 6
Men
1. Toronto - 299
2. Western - 225
3. McMaster - 192
4. Ottawa - 180
5. Guelph - 149
6. Waterloo - 83
7. York - 62
8. Laurentian - 56
9. Laurier - 37
10. Queens - 14
11. Brock - 12
OUA SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Friday, February 10
Preliminaries: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
W/M 200 Individual Medley
W/M 100 freestyle
W/M 200 backstroke
W/M 100 breaststroke
W/M 50 butterfly
W800 freestyle (heats #2+)
M1500 freestyle (heats #2+)
Finals: 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
W/M 200 Individual Medley
W/M 100 freestyle
Men1500 freestyle
W/M 200 backstroke
W/M 100 breaststroke
W/M 50 butterfly
Women 800 freestyle
W/M 4x100 Medley Relay
Saturday, February 11
Preliminaries: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
W/M 200 freestyle
W/M 50 breaststroke
W/M 50 backstroke
W/M 100 butterfly
W/M 400 Individual Medley
Finals: 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
W/M 4x50 Medley Relay
W/M 200 freestyle
W/M 50 breaststroke
W/M 50 backstroke
W/M 100 butterfly
W/M 400 Individual medley
W/M 4x100 freestyle relay
Awards
The OUA swimming championships resume on Friday beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Complete real-time results: http://www.guelphmarlins.ca/liveresults/
LIVE webcast at www.ssncanada.ca