EDMONTON – For the eighth and fourth times respectively, the UBC Thunderbirds are Canada West champions in women's and men's swimming, following their dominant performances over the three-day conference meet at the Kinsmen Sports Centre pool.

The Point Grey swimmers captured the Felsted Memorial trophy as women's champions with 1,047 points, while their 921 points was more than enough to capture the E.W. Griffiths men's championship trophy. Although they finished more than 400 points ahead of second place in the women's standings, they were just shy of the Canada West record for team points in women's swimming, which was set in 2013 by UBC when they earned 1,071. The men's record for points is 1,007, which was also established by the T-Birds, but in 2014.
 


"It's always great to win the double," stated UBC head coach Steve Price. "We had a goal of coming in a doing that and we achieved it. We also had the goal of breaking the all-time point total record, but we fell a little bit short on both sides. I think for the women it's only the second time ever a team has finished over 1,000 points, so we are pretty happy about that."
 
"Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson was outstanding this weekend," continued Price, who was named Coach of the Year in both women's and men's after the meet.  "Keegan Zanatta was phenomenal. And Coleman Allen, to come off an injury like he did, he had a gutsy outing all weekend. He isn't where he wants to be, but he is certainly on the way back to being at 100 per cent. And our rookies stepped up too, but that's what you need to win, all of your athletes stepping up, and that's what we got."
 
Zanatta was named the Male Swimmer of the Meet, while Calgary's Danica Ludlow earned the Female Swimmer of the Meet distinction.
 


Kelsey Wog, of the Manitoba Bisons, was named Female Rookie of the Meet, while Calgary's Peter Brothers won the Male Rookie of the Meet. Tianna Rissling, also of the Dinos, won the Female Student-Athlete Community Service award, while Jagdeesh Uppal of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack was honoured for the second consecutive season with the Male Student-Athlete Community Service honour.

"Impressive swims everywhere," commented Price. "Rookie Ingrid Wilm was fantastic, she just fell shy of winning the Rookie Swimmer of the Meet, and the Athlete of the Meet to some other great swimmers that are in the Canada West. She swept the backstroke events and was solid.

"Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson was just lights out, especially tonight. She beat a very good swimmer in Kelsey Wog in the 200 IM, so she had a big weekend, as did Maia Brundage. She won bronze in the 400 free and she won the 400 IM, beating her teammate Erika yesterday so she was good. Erin Stamp. There were strong swims all over the place on the women's side. Some of the rookies, like Megan Dalke, really stepped up and got on the podium a few times. Pretty impressed for all those women.
 

WIN FOR THE BIRDS... fail on the boomerang ??#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/DwDMws4hYJ

— UBC Women's Swimming (@ubcwswimming) November 28, 2016

"On the men's side, we got solid performances from Keegan Zanatta. Markus came in for the day and had some solid swims, same for Yuri and Stefan Milosevic. Coleman Allen basically broke his shoulder this summer and is on the mend. He was out of the water for 16 weeks before he came back. He's doing a great job trying to pull himself back up and I didn't think he was going to be able to swim this year based on his injury so he really stepped up for his team. Again, top-level performances from everyone all around."
 
Two more records were also broken on Sunday, which brings the three-day total to 12. Ingrid Wilm of UBC claimed her third record of the meet, this time swimming to a new conference high water mark in the 100m backstroke. She touched the wall at 58.49, which bettered the 59.10 mark that was set in 2010 by Calgary's Erica Morningstar. Victoria's Danielle Hanus earned silver in the event with a time of 58.90, which also bested Morningstar's time, and McKenzie Summers of UBC earned bronze with a time of 1:01.56.
 
The other record to fall was the men's 200m breaststroke. Alberta's Nick Kostiuk won the event with a time of 2:09.97, which broke a seven year record that was set by UBC's Scott Dickens with a time of 2:11.20. Kostiuk finished well ahead of the field as well, beating UBC's Jonathan Brown and his time of 2:13.67, as well as the 2:13.80 time by Alberta teammate Aaron Vander Leek.
 
UBC's women's 4x100m medley relay team comfortably captured gold with a time of 4:03.08, well ahead of Calgary's silver performance and time of 4:10.38. The Alberta Pandas stepped onto the podium with a bronze medal time of 4:11.44.
 
The Alberta Golden Bears managed to fight off UBC for the gold in the men's 4 x 100m medley relay, finishing with a time of 3:37.45. The T-Birds snagged silver (3:38.75) while Calgary picked up bronze with when they touched at 3:43.45.
 
"It's still only 12 weeks into our season, and it is a post-Olympic year," noted Price. "It's always a team reset every quadrennial after the Olympics, but we really came together as a team to this point this year. We are going to have a bit of a break this winter, before we gear up in January for nationals. It feels great to win the conference title, but we are really going after the national championship. U of C, U of T, and U of A all have great teams and they aren't going away. We are happy we won and we're happy with this weekend as a whole." 


 
All qualifiers now head to the Canadian university national swimming championships, which will run February 24-26 at the Université de Sherbrooke.

"We have a young team, with lots of young swimmers coming in and you're trying to teach them the T-Bird way, how we do things and how to bear down and manage themselves in competitions like this," said Price. "It's constant teaching and they're learning as they go. It's great to have these fresh faces in the program. They raise the bar and bring the spirits up for the people who've been at it for a while. Keeps everyone honest."
 
Canada West Award Winners
Swimmers of the Meet
Women: Danica Ludlow, Calgary   
Men: Keegan Zanatta, UBC

Rookie of the Meet
Women: Kelsey Wog, Manitoba
Men: Peter Brothers, Calgary
                        
Student-Athlete Community Service
Women: Tianna Rissling, Calgary
Men: Jagdeesh Uppal, Thompson Rivers

Coach of the Year
Women: Steve Price, UBC
Men: Steve Price, UBC

FINAL STANDINGS
WOMEN
1. UBC, 1,047
2. Calgary, 628
3. Alberta, 460
4. Victoria, 292.50
5. Regina, 247.50
6. Lethbridge, 203
7. Manitoba, 188
8. Thompson Rivers, 53

MEN
1. UBC, 921
2. Calgary, 654.50
3. Alberta, 576
4. Victoria, 413.50
5. Regina, 239
6. Lethbridge, 176
7. Manitoba, 135

DAY 3 RESULTS (SUNDAY)
Women's 200 Butterfly
1. Georgia Kidd, Alberta (2:12.03)
2. Jacomie Strydom, UBC (2:12.37)
3. Danielle D'Aoust, Calgary (2:14.21)
 
Men's 200 Butterfly
1. Connor Wilkins, UBC (2:00:27)
2. Christian Ng, Calgary (2:00.81)
3. Coleman Allen, UBC (2:00.84)
 
Women's 100 Freestyle
1. Kelsey Wog, Manitoba (54.88)
2. Quincy Brozo, UBC (55.97)
3. Eva Madar, Regina (56.08)
 
Men's 100 Freestyle
1. Stefan Milosevic, UBC (49.17)
2. Alex Shogolev, Manitoba (50.46)
3. Luke Peddie, UBC (50.47)
 
Women's 200 IM
1. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (2:10.48)
2. Erin Stamp, UBC (2:14.87)
3. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC (2:15.67)
 
Men's 200 IM
1. Jonathan Brown, UBC (2:00.39)
2. Araya Therrien, UBC (2:01.70)
3. Tristan Cote, Calgary (2:02.59)
 
Women's 100 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (58:49) *Canada West Record
2. Danielle Hanus, Victoria (58:90)
3. McKenzie Summers, UBC (1:01.56)
 
Men's 100 Backstroke
1. Josiah Binnema, Alberta (54.23)
2. Jarod Tsang, Calgary (54.51)
3. Noah Choboter, Regina (54.70)
 
Women's 200 Breaststroke
1. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (2:24.61)
2. Kelsey Wog, Manitoba (2:24.65)
3. Tianna Rissling, Calgary (2:26.84)
 
Men's 200 Breaststroke
1. Nick Kostiuk, Alberta (2:09.97) *Canada West Record
2. Jonathan Brown, UBC (2:13.67)
2. Aaron Vander Leek, Alberta (2:13.80)
 
Women's 400 Freestyle
1. Danica Ludlow, Calgary (4:08.27)
2. Megan Dalke, UBC (4:11.90)
3. Maia Brundage, UBC (4:12.93)
 
Men's 400 Freestyle
1. Keegan Zanatta, UBC (3:47.23)
2. Eric Hedlin, Victoria (3:50.58)
3. Peter Brothers, Calgary (3:50.68)
 
Women 4x100 Medley Relay
1. UBC (Ingrid Wilm, Erin Stamp, Jacomie Strydom, Quincy Brozo), 4:03.08
2. Calgary (Leah Smal, Tianna Rissling, Rachael Grothe, Danica Ludlow), 4:10.38
3. Alberta (Georgia Kidd, Madalyn Smith, Nichole Moen, Nikki MacLeod), 4:11.44
 
Men 4x100 Medley Relay
1. Alberta (Josiah Binnema, Nick Kostiuk, Bjoern-Ole Schrader, Caleb Vander Leek), 3:37.45
2. UBC (Carson Olafson, Jonathan Brown, Coleman Allen, Stefan Milosevic), 3:38.75
3. Calgary (Jarod Tsang, Benjamin Blackmon, Sterling King, Keith Dixon), 3:43.45

Day 2 Results
Women's 50 Freestyle
1. Quincy Brozo, UBC (25.43)* Canada West Record
2. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (25.77)
3. Madalyn Smith, Alberta (25.98)

Men's 50 Freestyle
1. Yuri Kisil, UBC (22.07)* Canada West Record
2. Markus Thormeyer, UBC (22.49)
3. Stefan Milosevic, UBC (22.84)

Women's 400 IM
1. Maia Brundage, UBC (4:41.58)
2. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (4:44.29)
3. Megan Dalke, UBC (4:45.22)

Men's 400 IM
1. Luke Reilly, UBC (4:18.58)
2. Jonathan Brown, UBC (4:18.92)
3. Colin Eriks, UBC (4:19.32)

Women's 100 Butterfly
1. Georgia Kidd, Alberta (59.90)
2. Eva Madar, Regina (1:00.72)
3. Jacomie Strydom, UBC (1:01.46)

Men's 100 Butterfly
1. Josiah Binnema, Alberta (53.05)
2. Coleman Allen, UBC (53.64)
3. Bjoern-Ole Schrader, Alberta (54.45)

Women's 200 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (2:07.65)* Canada West Record
2. Danielle Hanus, Victoria (2:09.03)
3. Mckenzie Summers, UBC (2:11.60)

Men's 200 Backstroke
1. Markus Thormeyer, UBC (1:57.15)
2. Jarod Tsang, Calgary (1:58.06)
3. Noah Choboter, Regina (1:58.56)

Women's 100 Breaststroke
1. Kelsey Wog, Manitoba (1:06.30) *Canada West Record
2. Erin Stamp, UBC (1:07.33)
3. Madalyn Smith, Alberta (1:09.33)

Men's 100 Breaststroke
1. Nick Kostiuk, Alberta (59.99)
2. Gregory Farmer, Alberta (1:02.37)
3. Aaron Vander Leek, Alberta (1:02.58)

Women's 200 Freestyle
1. Danica Ludlow, Calgary (1:57.50)* Canada West Record
2. Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, UBC (1:57.67)
3. Maia Brundage, UBC (1:59.32)

Men's 200 Freestyle
1. Keegan Zanatta, UBC (1:47.56)
2. Stefan Milosevic, UBC (1:48.32)
3. Peter Brothers, Calgary (1:49.17)

Women's 400 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Ingrid Wilm, Quincy Brozo, Maia Brundage, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson) 3:43.41
2. Alberta (Madalyn Smith, Nichole Moen, Georgia Kidd, Nikki MacLeod) 3:47.67
3. Calgary (Robyn Lee, Danica Ludlow, Leah Smal, Tianna Rissling) 3:51.24

Men's 400 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Yuri Kissil, Markus Thormeyer, Stefan Milosevic, Carson Olafson) 3:18.15* Canada West Record
2. Alberta (Skyeler Kerr, Bjoern-Ole Schrader, Caleb Vander Leek, Nick Kostiuk) 3:24.56
3. Victoria (Brett Zollen, Garett Mallender, Josh Zakala, Eric Hedlin) 3:26.00

DAY 1 RESULTS
Women's 800 Freestyle
1. Danica Ludlow, Calgary (8:36.74)
2. Megan Dalke, UBC (8:40.52)
3. Maia Brundage, UBC (8:43.88) 

Men's 1500 Freestyle
1. Eric Hedlin, Victoria (15:14.20)
2. Jonathan Brown, UBC (15:23.21)
3. Keegan Zanatta, UBC (15:27.29) 

Women's 50 Butterfly
1. Georgia Kidd, Alberta (27.36)
2. Eva Madar, Regina (27.54)
3. Jacomie Strydom, UBC (27.70) 

Men's 50 Butterfly
1. Luke Peddie, UBC (23.85) *Canada West Record
2. Coleman Allen, UBC (24.12)
3. Skyeler Kerr, Alberta (24.61) 

Women's 50 Backstroke
1. Ingrid Wilm, UBC (27.26) *Canada West Record
2. Danielle Hanus, Victoria (27.76)
3. Leah Smal, Calgary (28.78) 

Men's 50 Backstroke
1. Josh Dow, Calgary (24.97)
2. Josiah Binnema, Alberta (25.09)
3. Christopher Courtis, Calgary (25.11) 

Women's 50 Breaststroke
1. Kelsey Wog, Manitoba (30.54) *Canada West Record
2. Erin Stamp, UBC (30.98)
3. Tianna Rissling, Calgary (31.62) 

Men's 50 Breaststroke
1. Nick Kostiuk, Alberta (27.76)
2. Warren Mayer, UBC (28.38)
3. Joel Robinson, Lethbridge (28.41)
 
Women's 800 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Erika Seltenreich-Hodson, Megan Dalke, Ingrid Wilm, Maia Brundage) 8:00.10
2. Alberta (Georgia Kidd, Nikki MacLeod, Nichole Moen, Madalyn Smith) 8:15.99
3. Calgary (Danica Ludlow, Robyn Lee, Lauren Teghtsoonian, Leah Smal) 8:16.26 

Men's 800 Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Carson Olafson, Stefan Milosevic, Coleman Allen, Keegan Zanatta) 7:15.56 *Canada West Record
2. Calgary (Peter Brothers, Christopher Neave, Teddy Kalp, Tristan Cote) 7:24.09
3. Alberta (Caleb Vander Leek, Nick Kostiuk, Josiah Binnema, Bjoern-Ole Schrader) 7:29.68
 
About Canada West:
Canada West is the premier university athletic conference in the country and is home to champion student-athletes that excel on the field, in the classroom and in their communities. Canada West and its 17 member institutions commit to a student-athlete experience where competitive excellence, scholarship and sportsmanship contribute equally towards moulding outstanding graduates and community leaders.
Canada West – Training leaders, building champions.