VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds enjoyed another standout showing this weekend in amassing 37 total wins at the two-day West Coast Collegiate swim meet held Saturday and Sunday at the Saanich Commonwealth Games Pool. The WCC prooves to be the T-Birds final tune-up event ahead of making another run at the U SPORTS Swimming Championships held in Quebec City from March 24-26th. 
 
34 short course events made up day one as the T-Birds led the way with 18 wins.

"We've been working hard and staying resilient during these trying times," said UBC Swimming Coach Derrick Schoof in summarizing the dominant weekend for his group. "Our performances were excellent for this time of year considering the workload the swimmers are under. We are learning from every race and competing with all we've got.  We are showing good speed and fitness in our races." 

In a homecoming of sorts, UBC's Danielle Hanus returned to Commonwealth Place. Hanus, a UVic graduate and six-time U SPORTS gold medallist as a member of the Vikes, picked up wins in the 100 back (58.14) and 100 fly (59.33) for the Thunderbirds.


 
Five more 'Birds posted two-win afternoons to start Saturday. Emma Spence captured the first win of the meet in the 200 IM, clocking in at 2:14.52. She later posted a time of 2:27.05 in the 200 breast to win the event.
 
Emma O'Cronin won the 100 and 200 free, finishing with times of 56.02 and 1:59.22, respectively, for first place in both events.
 
Earning top-spot finishes in the 200 free and 50 breast was Blake Tierney, who won his events with times of 1:47.70 and 28.01, respectively.
 
Keir Ogilvie picked up event titles in the 50 and 100 fly events, finishing with times of 24.01 and 53.37 to cap his two-win day.
 
Rounding out the two-win days was Hugh McNeill, who won the 100 back with a 54.18 mark and the 400 IM with a 4:20.96 swim.
 


The second day of action featured long course competition. Spence led the way for the T-Birds, collecting three of UBC's 19 wins on the morning. Spence took the 100 breast title with a time of 1:11.18, the 200 breast title at 2:32.28, and the 200 IM title with a 2:19.89 performance.
 
O'Cronin posted her second two-win day of the meet, claiming the 200 free (2:03.97) and 400 free (4:22.79) event wins.
 
Sweeping the IM events, Brodie Young finished at the top of the podium in the 200 and 400 IM, clocking in at 2:07.11 and 4:34.37, respectively.

"We are on track for some excellent performances at next month's U SPORTS Championships," added Schoof. "I've been particularly impressed with our Women's team who are showing that even with a smaller roaster, they will be a very tough team to beat come the National Championships."
 
Rounding out the multiple-win performers on Sunday was Hanus, picking up wins in the 200 fly and 100 free with times of 2:16.17 and 57.95, respectively.