New look T-Birds face tough test at conference champs

1/19/2010 1:37:33 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB - The UBC men's and women's swim teams have undergone an overhaul since placing first and second respectively at the 2009 CIS championships. Gone are Olympians Annamay Pierse and Scott Dickens as are team leaders and career T-Birds Callum Ng and Haylee Johnson. Fortunately for the Thunderbirds they welcomed a crop of 14 new swimmers to the pool deck for the 2009-10 season. The fresh faces will not be expected to replace the departed talent but will be expected to have a steep learning curve with points at a premium in the always tough Canada West Championships to be contested this weekend in Lethbridge.

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The changes do not end in the pool as 2009 also marked the final season of head coach Derrick Schoof and assistant Claude-Yves Bertrand. Filling Schoof's shoes is promising local coach Chad Webb who enjoyed success coaching age-grouip swimmers in North Vancouver. Assisting Webb is another young coach, Richard Millns, a Calgary-native who honed his skills in Saskatoon where he coached a successful group of young swimmers, including a national age-group record breaker.

With the new dynamic at the UBC Aquatic Centre, 2010 promises to be challenging for the T-Birds with their first test coming at the conference championships, which the T-Birds have not captured since 2007 for the women and 2006 for the men. In recent years a lack of man power has plagued T-Birds at the Canada West meet often relying on strong performances from squads smaller than those put forth by their chief rivals, the Calgary Dinos. This season, however, numbers won't be a problem as 17 men and 18 women will travel to Lethbridge.

If the T-Bird women, who boast their largest team in recent memory, are going to challenge the Dinos for the conference title they will have to rely on youth to do so, as nine freshmen will be competing this year. Look for Edmontonian Shaneese Nowlan in butterfly and and IM and Taryne Landry, younger sister of five-year T-Bird Michelle, in backstroke and freestyle to make a big splash in their debuts.

Success will not fall solely on the shoulders of the first years. Hanna Pierse, younger sister of Annamay, has assumed the team captain's role and will be a force in both the breaststroke and individual medley events, while, Martha McCabe steps into the role as the pre-eminent breaststroker in the CIS following Annamay's graduation. Erin Miller, the Thunderbirds' lone fifth year swimmer, returns to the squad after a long absence due to injury and could surprise with some much needed points in the butterfly events.

For the men, capturing their first Canada West banner in four seasons will be a tall task. Their side is full of youth with six first years and no fifth year swimmers. Veterans to watch include national team member Jordan Hartney who will look to continue his recent dominance in the backstroke and individual medley events. Up and comer Matthew Godbeer, who enjoyed a successful summer following an impressive 2009 CIS championships, will be trying to cement himself as a power in both IM and mid-distance freestyle. Joining Godbeer and Hartney in the IM events is newly minted team captain Kevin Bruce who, in only in his third season as a T-Bird, will be called upon not only to score some much needed points but to provide much needed leadership for the T-Birds. Finally, the third-year trio of Rory Biskupski, Duncan Furrer and Tommy Gossland will be relied on to carry the UBC freestyle corps.

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