VICTORIA, B.C. – The UBC Thunderbirds swim teams are the best in Canada for the fourth year in a row.
They swept aside all competitors at the 2020 U SPORTS Swimming Championships at Saanich Commonwealth Place in Victoria, taking the top spot in the women's and men's team standings for the fourth-consecutive season.
"Unbelievable. We knew it was going to be close, and it actually wasn't as close as we thought it'd be," said head coach
Derrick Schoof. "The teams stepped up big time. What can I say? It feels great."
The women's squad trailed Toronto after Day 1, but earned 1,092.5 points to take home the U SPORTS banner for the 24th time in school history. Toronto placed second with 978.5 points, and Calgary third with 864.
"We never really thought we had it," said Schoof. "We knew Toronto was going to be really tough to beat and the girls just had to find a way. They won all the small races when they needed to, and in the end, when they put five women in the 200 IM final, we knew we had it won."
The men's team led from start to finish, and recorded 1,087 points, ahead of Calgary (873), and Toronto (765). It is the 18th national championship for UBC.
"In the end, it took a few things," remarked Schoof, whose team was ranked second in Canada behind Calgary coming into the meet. "Of course, Calgary was a very strong team and I think it was our young guys. They all stepped up and they improved so much throughout the course of the season. They were great at Canada West, but they were even better here and that made all the difference."
Photo by Kevin Light
Markus Thormeyer was expected to lead the Thunderbirds, and he didn't disappoint this weekend. Not only did he retain his Male Swimmer of the Year award, Thormeyer also capped off the week by completing his second Grand Slam (four career wins in the same event) of the meet in the 200-metre backstroke with his U SPORTS record-setting time of 1:58.54.
For good measure, he added a gold in the 100 free 17 minutes later and a gold in the 4x100 medley relay.
"It was cool that I could have a week like this," said Thormeyer. "(After my first race), I went right to warm down like a good swimmer should. I thought about my next race all break, had a couple jelly packs, hydrated and just had fun with it."
In the relay, Thormeyer,
Jaren LeFranc,
Dmitriy Lim, and
Alex Pratt combined to finish in 3:42.55, more than three seconds ahead of Toronto.
"I really fed off of their performances," said Thormeyer of his teammates. "We all inspire each other to swim fast, so it feels great to come together as one unified group and push for the title tonight."
Second-year star
Brodie Young won the 200 individual medley in an exciting three-man race for gold. He was third going into the final 50 metres before overtaking Regina's Brian Palaschuk and Robert Hill of Calgary in the freestyle leg to win in 2:04.10.
Hau-Li Fan won silver in the 1,500 free, posting a time of 15:33.13, which was better than the previous U SPORTS record set last year. Pratt was third in the 100 free (51.17).
The UBC women's team saw five individuals win medals on Day 3. The T-Birds then won the competition-closing 4x100 medley relay.
Hoi Lam Karen Tam had been cleaning up in the pool all week. Already with the 50 free title (25.92) in her back pocket, she picked up the Sprinter's Cup with her gold medal in the 100 free. She swam a personal-best time of 55.50. Tam is the second UBC women's swimmer to earn the U SPORTS Sprinter's Cup after Alexandra Ruiz achieved the feat in 1995.
"I wasn't really able to see what was going on beside me, so I just kept going," said Tam. "For me, it's all about playing for your team and getting as many points for them as possible."
She then swam the anchor leg in UBC's medley relay win, teaming up with
Olivia Ellard,
Hillary Metcalfe, and
Emily Overholt to cap off a triumphant weekend for the Thunderbirds program in the provincial capital.
With a time of 2:12.86, Overholt won silver in the 200 IM, a race referenced by Schoof earlier as integral to UBC's team championship win. Four other T-Birds, Metcalfe (fourth - 2:17.97),
Anna Dumont-Belanger (sixth - 2:22.41),
Sara Godon (seventh - 2:22.65) and Ellard (eighth - 2:28.29) joined Overholt in the final, and combined to give the team 123 points in the standings.
Megan Dalke won silver in the 800 free by touching the wall in 8:53.14. Metcalfe finished a silver-medal 50 breast performance in 32.39, and Ellard captured silver in the 200 back by going 2:14.99.
Over the three days of intense competition, there were three short-course and 11 long-course U SPORTS records broken, along with three pool records.
With the university season over, many of UBC swimmers will now focus on the upcoming 2020 Olympic Swimming Trials, taking place March 30 to April 5 in Toronto.
Full Results
TEAM STANDINGS
Men (Nelson C. Hart Trophy)
- UBC, 1,087
- Calgary, 873
- Toronto, 765
- McGill, 691
- Ottawa, 515.5
- Victoria, 494
- Regina, 400
- Montreal, 328
- Alberta, 303
- Western, 291.5
- Laval, 229.5
- Waterloo, 163
- Acadia, 118
- McMaster, 115
- Manitoba, 69
- Dalhousie, 46
- Lethbridge, 39
- Guelph, 38
- Brock, 36
- Thompson Rivers, 34.5
- Sherbrooke, 20
- New Brunswick, 15
Photo by APShutter.com/Victoria Vikes
Women
- UBC, 1,092.5
- Toronto, 978.5
- Calgary, 864
- Victoria, 552.5
- Montreal, 499
- Ottawa, 377
- McGill, 343.5
- Western, 290
- Laval, 254
- McMaster, 252.5
- Dalhousie, 231.5
- Manitoba, 212.5
- Alberta, 147
- Guelph, 111
- Regina, 86
- New Brunswick, 63
- Waterloo, 59.5
- Sherbrooke, 57
- Laurier, 54
- Acadia, 51
- UQTR, 48
- Laurentian, 45
- Lethbridge, 37
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS DAY 3
W 800m Freestyle
- Danica Ludlow, Calgary, 8:45.45 (U SPORTS record)
- Marit Anderson, Calgary, 8:52.72
- Megan Dalke, UBC, 8:53.14
W 50m Breaststroke
- Kelsey Wog, Manitoba, 31.21
- Hillary Metcalfe, UBC, 32.39
- Marie-Laurence Godin, Sherbrooke, 32.51
W 200m Back
- Aleksa Gold, Toronto, 2:13.62
- Lauren Crisp, Victoria, 2:14.84
- Olivia Ellard, UBC, 2:14.99
W 100m Freestyle
- Hoi Lam Karen Tam, UBC, 55.50
- Aleksa Gold, Toronto, 56.35
- Ainsley McMurray, Toronto, 56.58
W 200m IM
- Kelsey Wog, Manitoba, 2:10.87, U SPORTS record
- Emily Overholt, UBC, 2:12.86
- Hannah Genich, Toronto, 2:16.98
W 4x100m Medley Relay
- UBC, 4:09.72
(Olivia Ellard, Hillary Metcalfe, Emily Overholt, Hoi Lam Karen Tam)
- Toronto, 4:10.63
(Aleksa Gold, Abby McDonald, Hannah Genich, Ainsley McMurray)
- Victoria, 4:13.92
(Lauren Crisp, Jamie Hellard, Danielle Hanus, Alexandria Hedges)
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS DAY 3
M 50m Breastroke
- Cale Kooyman, Alberta, 28.90
- Tengbo Yu, McGill, 28.96
- Will Barrett, Ottawa, 29.06
M 200m Back
- Markus Thormeyer, UBC, 1:58.54 (U SPORTS record)
- Richie Stokes, Calgary, 2:01.70
- Anders Klein, Calgary, 2:02.57
M 100m Freestyle
- Markus Thormeyer, UBC, 49.36
- Davide Casarin, Ottawa, 50.51
- Alexander Pratt, UBC, 51.17
M 200 IM
- Brodie Young, UBC, 2:04.10
- Brian Palaschuk, Regina, 2:04.50
- Robert Hill, Calgary, 2:04.74.
M 1,500m Freestyle
- Davide Casarin, Ottawa, 15:30.55 (U SPORTS record)
- Hau-Li Fan, UBC,15:33.13
- Eric Hedlin, Victoria, 15:40.17
M 4x100m Medley Relay
- UBC, 3:42.55
(Markus Thormeyer, Jaren LeFranc, Dmitriy Lim, Alex Pratt)
- Toronto, 3:45.97
(Tyler Wall, Graeme Aylward, Osvald Nitski, Cameron Kidd)
- Calgary
(Anders Klein, Benjamin Blackmon, Robert Hill, Paul Latkovic)
INDIVIDUAL HONOURS
Men
Swimmer of the Year:
Markus Thormeyer, UBC
Rookie of the Year: Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc, Laval
Sprinter's Cup (single winner of both 50m and 100m freestyle): Not awarded
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Peter Carpenter, McGill
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Gordon Forrest, Ottawa
Women
Swimmer of the Year: Kelsey Wog, Manitoba
Rookie of the Year: Daphne Danyluk, McGill
Sprinter's Cup (single winner of both 50m and 100m freestyle):
Hoi Lam Karen Tam, UBC
Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Vlastimil Cerny, Manitoba
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Celine Funk, Brock
