VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds swim teams had a very successful weekend of racing at the US Winter Nationals in Atlanta, and at the Husky Invitational in Federal Way, Wash. Results at both competitions established the T-Birds as strong contenders for the team titles in early in 2012. Both the Men's and Women's Teams have more work to do to take that step but are well on their way.
2011 World Bronze medalist,
Martha McCabe (5) earned a bronze medal in the Women's 200 Breastroke against a star studded field. Winner of the event was current World #1, Rebecca Soni (2011 World Gold medalist) and taking the Silver was 2004 Olympic Gold medalist, Amanda Beard.
In the same event, Freshman Tara Van Beilen place 8th in a seasonal best. In the 100 Breaststroke it was
Martha McCabe placing 4th beating out her teammate
Tera Van Beilen by .01 of a second for 5th. All were seasonal bests and good results for this point in the season.
Distance ace,
Savannah King (2) earned a 4th place finish in the 800 Free (8:40.90) just 4 seconds over her best time in a strong performance for this point in the season. King also placed 2nd in the "B" final in the 400 Free in 4:12.86.
Heather MacLean raced to strong results in the 100 and 200 Free, earning second swims in both events.
Based on these performances, all four of these Women look to be in the mix for Canada's 2012 Olympic Team, with
Martha McCabe shooting for a podium spot in London.
In Federal Way Washington, the bulk of the team was in competition at the Husky Invitational. With top NCAA Division 2 School Grand Canyon University rested and ready to go, the Birds had a great battle on their hands. Lead by 5th years
Tommy Gossland and Rachelle Salle, the T-Birds won the combined Collegiate Team Title. The Women won their division and the men came in second to CGU by 1 point.
Gossland earned Gold in the 100 Free, breaking a 21 year old meet record, Gold in the 200 Free and a 4th in the 50 Free. Salle who earned the High Point Award for Women, won the 100 and 200 Back, Silver in the 400 IM, 4th in the 200 IM. Rachelle was also part of the Women's 4x200 Free Relay that took Gold in a new meet record of 7:24.96.
"Both meets had tough competition which we seek out as a team and we feel we add to the environment with the standard we bring. As leading swimmers in Canada, the five T-Bird Women that competed at US Nationals are on track to dominate at the CIS Champs and go on to challenge for spots on the Olympic Team." 1st year Head Coach
Steve Price said.
Price added, "I was proud of the way our team stepped up at the Husky Invite wining the Combined and Women's Collegiate Team titles. The Women were particularly tough winning with only half the squad, while the Men came up 2 points shy of beating a very stacked CGU Team. They are starting to understand the attention to detail they need to be a Championship Team and how much they have to work for one anther to earn that recognition. It was a good step in the development of the program."
Click Here for full Results of US Nationals
Click Here for full Results of the Husky Invitational
Combined Team Score          Â
1. UBC - 2546.5Â Â
2. Grand Canyon - 2521.5 Â
3. Whitworth 566
4. Puget Sound 474 Â
5. Alaska Women's Swim Team 451
Women's Team Score
1. UBC - 1,195.50
2. Grand Canyon - 1,151.50
3. Alaska Women's Swim Team 451
4. Puget Sound (Wash.) 181
5. Whitworth 163
Men's Team Score
1. Grand Canyon - 1,578
2. UBC - 1,577
3. Whitworth - 521
4. Puget Sound - 345
5. Whitman - 143
Next up for the T-Birds is the B.C. Senior Championships, Dec. 16-18 at the UBC Aquatic Centre.
Start Times
Friday 16th at 2:00 pm Prelims
Saturday 17th 9:00 am Prelims, 5:00 pm Finals
Sunday 18th 9:00 am Prelims, 5:00 pm Finals
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