2019 U SPORTS Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2019 U SPORTS ODLUM BROWN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Thursday, February 21 – Saturday, February 23
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• UBC Aquatic Centre
• Prelims: SCM (25m)
• Finals: LCM (50m)
• Event Schedule
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet

Tonight marks the first of three finals sessions from the 2019 U SPORTS Championships in Vancouver, featuring the top university swimmers in Canada. A busy opening day schedule features the 50 free, 100 back, 50 breast, 400 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, and the 400 medley relay.

After today’s prelims were contested in short course, the finals will be raced long course metres.

This morning, reigning World Champion Kylie Masse of Toronto easily posted the top time in the women’s 100 back, clocking 56.74 to come just 0.72 off of her Canadian Record (56.02). A win tonight would be her fourth straight (this is her fifth year of eligibility, having placed 2nd in her rookie season in 2015).

Danielle Hanus (58.31) of Victoria and Ingrid Wilm (59.44) of UBC will battle for silver after being the only others to go sub-1:00 in the heats.

There are plenty of other notable names in action, including 2016 SC World silver medalist Kelsey Wog who qualified 1st into the final of the women’s 50 breast (30.70) and 200 IM (2:09.91).

Olympian Markus Thormeyer of UBC took the top spot in the men’s 100 back by over a second in 52.26, and there’s also his teammate, Olympic bronze medalist Emily Overholt, leading the charge in the women’s 400 free (4:08.45). The women’s 100 fly will pit veteran Katerine Savard of Montreal, who qualified 5th in 1:00.24, against first year rising star Rebecca Smith (57.03) of Toronto.

Women’s 50 Free Final

• USPORT: 25.65, Sandrine Mainville, 2015

1. Charis Huddle, WES, 25.74
2. Hoi Lam Tam, UBC, 26.05
3. Ainsley McMurray, UT, 26.13

Charis Huddle of Western won the women’s 50 free in a time of 25.74, missing the meet record by less than a tenth and breaking 26 for the first time in her career.

She was also the only swimmer sub-26 in the final, with the top seed from prelims Hoi Lam Tam picking up 2nd for UBC in 26.05. Ainsley McMurray of Toronto rounds out the podium in 26.13.

Men’s 50 Free Final

• USPORT: 22.63, Alex Loginov, 2016

1. Alex Loginov, UBC, 23.21
2. Matt Schouten, LU, 23.36
3. Stephen Calkins, UOFC, 23.42

After not competing the last two years 2016 champ Alex Loginov regained the crown he won two years ago by taking the men’s 50 free in a time of 23.21.

Matt Schouten of Laurentian, who won gold at the Ontario Championships in this event a few weeks ago, snagged the silver medal out of lane eight by tying his best time in 23.36. Calgary’s Stephen Calkins won bronze in 23.42.

Women’s 100 Back Final

• USPORT: 59.81, Kylie Masse, 2016

1. Kylie Masse, UT, 59.33
2. Danielle Hanus, UVIC, 1:01.56
3. Ingrid Wilm, UBC, 1:01.82

The podium of the women’s 100 back ends up the exact same as last year as Toronto’s Kylie Masse successfully won the title for the fourth straight year. She clocked in at 59.33, lowering her 2016 meet record by half a second.

Danielle Hanus of Victoria edged out UBC’s Ingrid Wilm for silver in 1:01.56, with Wilm a few tenths back for bronze in 1:01.82. Both swimmers own best times in the 1:00-range.

Men’s 100 Back Final

• USPORT: 55.78, Noah Choboter, 2016

1. Markus Thormeyer, UBC, 53.78
2. Robert Hill, UOFC, 56.27
3. Anders Klein, UOFC, 56.38

Markus Thormeyer ended up being even more dominant than Masse was, winning the men’s event by two and a half seconds in a blazing 53.78. That gets him under his best time from the 2018 Commonwealth Games (53.86), and narrowly misses the 10-year-old Canadian Record of 53.63. He destroyed the USPORTS Record by two full seconds.

The University of Calgary nailed down the other two spots on the podium with Robert Hill (56.27) and Anders Klein (56.38) taking 2nd and 3rd. Just like the women’s event, the podium ends up the exact same as last year.

Women’s 50 Breast Final

• USPORT: 31.11, Fiona Doyle, 2015

1. Kelsey Wog, UMAN, 31.80
2. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC, 32.26
3. Marie-Laurence Godin, USHER, 32.47

Kelsey Wog from the University of Manitoba and Hillary Metcalfe went 1-2 in the women’s 50 breast for the second straight year, with Wog the only swimmer to crack 32 seconds in 31.80. Her best time stands at 31.55 from 2016, while Metcalfe was 32.26 to slip under her old best of 32.32.

Marie-Laurence Godin of Sherbrooke won a tight race for bronze in 32.47, just ahead of the Alberta duo of Madalyn Smith (32.49) and Renae Ledoux (32.55).

Men’s 50 Breast Final

• USPORT: 28.46, Konrad Bald, 2015

1. Cale Kooyman, UOFA, 28.81
2. Matthew Loewen, WES, 28.93
3. Jonathan Naisby, USHER, 29.00

Alberta rookie Cale Kooyman pulled off the gold medal in the men’s 50 breast from lane seven, touching in a time of 28.81 to knock over a second off his best time.

Western’s Matthew Loewen was just 0.12 back for silver in 28.93, and Jonathan Naisby of Sherbrooke took 3rd in 29.00. Loewen and Naisby tied for the bronze last year.

Women’s 400 Free Final

• USPORT: 4:14.95, Savannah King, 2015

1. Emily Overholt, UBC, 4:06.27
2. Megan Dalke, UBC, 4:15.57
3. Maia Brundage, UBC, 4:16.48

UBC’s Emily Overholt put on a dominant display in the women’s 400 freestyle, leading wire-to-wire to win by over nine seconds in a time of 4:06.27. That is a new best time for Overholt, who had previously been 4:07.93 at the 2015 Santa Clara Pro Swim. She looks to be fully back on form and better than ever after dealing with some injuries after the 2016 Olympic Games.

It was a sweep for the Thunderbirds on the podium as Megan Dalke (4:15.57) and Maia Brundage (4:16.48) placed 2nd and 3rd, followed by Calgary’s Marit Anderson (4:16.78) and Danica Ludlow (4:17.33). Ludlow came in as the two-time defending champion, though both of those wins came when finals were raced short course metres.

Men’s 400 Free Final

• USPORT: 3:52.68, Keegan Zanatta, 2015

1. Davide Casarin, OTT, 3:53.46
2. Alex Pratt, UBC, 3:56.92
3. Peter Brothers, UOFC, 3:57.95

Italian native Davide Casarin of Ottawa moved up one spot on the podium from last year to win gold in the men’s 400 free, posting a time of 3:53.46. Challenged early in the race by UBC first year Alex Pratt, Casarin pulled away with a 56.96 final 100 metres.

Pratt held on for 2nd in 3:56.92, while 2018 champ Peter Brothers of Calgary took 3rd in 3:57.95.

Women’s 100 Fly Final

• USPORT: 58.55, Katerine Savard, 2015

1. Rebecca Smith, TOR, 59.03
2. Hannah Genich, TOR, 59.33
3. Danielle Hanus, UVIC, 1:00.61

After swimming a best time of 57.03 in the short course prelims, Toronto first year Rebecca Smith held off teammate Hannah Genich to win the women’s 100 fly in a time of 59.03. Smith holds a best of 57.77 from the Commonwealth Games last March, where she finished 6th overall.

Genich dropped a tenth from her lifetime best for silver in 59.33, and Danielle Hanus of Victoria picked up her second medal of the session in 3rd (1:00.61). USPORT Record holder Katerine Savard finished back in 5th in 1:00.93.

Men’s 100 Fly Final

• USPORT: 53.21, Coleman Allen, 2015

1. Josiah Binnema, UBCT, 52.89
2. Matt Dans, UT, 54.21
3. Clement Secchi, MCGILL, 54.64

Josiah Binnema successfully defended his 100 fly title for the men in a blazing fast time of 52.89, breaking fellow UBC swimmer Coleman Allen‘s meet record of 53.21.

Matt Dans of Toronto won silver in 54.21, and Clement Secchi (54.64) of McGill edged out Varsity Blue Osvald Nitski (54.86) in the race for 3rd.

Women’s 200 IM Final

• USPORT: 2:12.85, Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson, 2016

1. Kelsey Wog, UMAN, 2:13.98
2. Hillary Metcalfe, UBC, 2:16.87
3. Georgia Kidd, UT, 2:17.79

Just like they did in the 50 breast, Kelsey Wog and Hillary Metcalfe took 1st and 2nd respectively in the final of the women’s 200 IM, with Wog leading the way in a time of 2:13.98. She pulled away from the field on the breast and then threw down the field’s fastest freestyle split to improve on the silver she won last year.

Metcalfe out-split Wog on breast in 38.84, and grabbed 2nd in 2:16.87 to sneak under her old best by two-tenths. Georgia Kidd of Toronto was with Metcalfe at the 150 but fell off on the freestyle to end up 3rd in 2:17.79.

Men’s 200 IM Final

• USPORT: 2:03.93, Hochan Ryu, 2016

1. Montana Champagne, OTT, 2:02.09
2. Brian Palaschuk, UOFR, 2:02.26
3. Josh Zakala, UVIC, 2:04.35

Ottawa’s Montana Champagne chopped a full second off his best time to edge out Regina’s Brian Palaschuk for the gold in the men’s 200 IM, clocking 2:02.09 to annihilate Hochan Ryu‘s meet record of 2:03.93 from 2016.

Virtually in a dead heat at the 100m mark, Champagne edged slightly ahead on the breast leg and was able to hold off the charge from Palaschuk coming home. He moves up from 3rd last season, while Palaschuk, who dropped more than two full seconds to win silver in 2:02.26, sees a massive improvement after swimming in the ‘C’ final in 2018.

Josh Zakala of Victoria used the top free split in the field of 28.90 to run down Calgary’s Robert Hill (2:04.49) for the bronze in 2:04.35.

Women’s 400 Medley Relay Timed Final

• USPORT: 4:06.63, UDEM, 2015

1. Toronto, 4:05.55
2. UBC, 4:08.24
3. Montreal, 4:18.43

The University of Toronto defended their title in the 400 medley relay, breaking the Canadian Club Record in the process in a time of 4:05.55. That lowers the 4:05.89 mark set by the UBC Dolphin Swim Club in 2011. They also took out Montreal’s 2015 meet record of 4:06.63.

They were led by Masse, who gave them a huge lead with a 59.65 backstroke leg. She was followed by Kelsey Crocker (1:11.36), Hannah Genich (59.34) and Rebecca Smith (55.20).

UBC was 2nd in 4:08.24, with solid legs from Ingrid Wilm (1:02.47), Hillary Metcalfe (1:10.25), Kirsten Douglas (1:00.35), and Emily Overholt (55.17). Montreal was over ten seconds back for 3rd in 4:18.43.

Men’s 400 Medley Relay Timed Final

• USPORT: 3:44.48, UOFA, 2015

1. UBC, 3:41.62
2. Toronto, 3:47.19
3. Calgary, 3:47.59

The UBC men were just as dominant as the Toronto women, with Markus Thormeyer handing the team a big lead with a 54.08 backstroke split. Jaren LeFranc (1:03.41) was the fastest on breast, Josiah Binnema (52.64) was the fastest on fly, and then Alex Pratt closed things off in 51.49 for a final time of 3:41.62.

The podium was the exact same as last season, with Toronto (3:47.19) 2nd and Calgary (3:47.59) 3rd. Those teams had the top free legs in the field, with Mitch Ferraro going 50.32 for the Blues and Stephen Calkins anchoring in 50.35 for the Dinos.

TEAM SCORES

WOMEN

1. UBC, 500.5
2. Toronto, 389.5
3. Montreal, 252.5
4. Calgary, 188
5. Victoria, 131
6. Ottawa, 109
7. Alberta, 100
8. McGill, 99
9. Manitoba, 97.5
10. Laval, 86

MEN

1. Calgary, 372
2. UBC, 330.5
3. Toronto, 268
4. McGill, 240
5. Victoria, 182
6. Regina, 171
7. Montreal, 155
8. Ottawa, 137.5
9. Laval, 109
10. Lethbridge, 106.5