UBC Men Win 5th-Straight U Sports Title, Toronto Women End 4-Year UBC Streak

2022 U SPORTS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 24-26, 2022
• Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec
• 25m (SCM)
• Start Times: Prelims – 10 am ET / Finals – 6 pm ET
• Defending Champions: UBC women (4x), UBC men (4x)
• Championship Central
• Entry List
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Day 3 Results

Toronto handily won the women’s team title with a score of 1359 points, 320 ahead of runner-up UBC. The title marks Toronto’s 1st women’s team title since 2016, and their 16th in program history. Meanwhile, the UBC Thunderbirds won a 5th-straight title on the men’s side and are now tied with Toronto for the most men’s titles in history (18).

UBCT kicked the meet off with a decisive victory in the women’s 800 free, where Emma O’Croinin swam an 8:33.35. She touched 9 seconds ahead of anyone else in the field, having built an almost 5-second lead at the 400m mark.

University of Lethbridge’s Apollo Hess won the men’s 50 breast with a 26.65, not only winning himself an individual title, but cracking the Canadian Record in the event as well. The previous Canadian Record in the SCM 50 breast stood at 26.69 and was established back in 2009. Gabe Mastromatteo (Toronto) took 2nd and was also under 27 seconds in the event, swimming a 26.95.

After swimming an excellent 100 breast earlier in the meet, University of Manitoba Bisons’ Kelsey Wog cracked the U Sports Record in the women’s 50 breast, roaring to victory in 30.45. With the swim, she touched first by 1.2 seconds, an astonishing margin for a 50. The previous U Sports Record stood 30.70 from 2015. Wog’s development is exciting for Canadian swimming fans, as the emergence of an elite breaststroke on the international level would put Canada’s women’s medley relays among the best in world.

Wog would go on to nearly break the women’s 200 IM U Sports Record later in the session as well. She clocked a 2:08.61, leading the field by 4 seconds. She was expectedly great on the breast leg of the race, splitting 36.10.

UBCT’s Blake Tierney put up a fantastic performance in finals of the men’s 200 backstroke, clocking a 1:53.32. The swim brought Tierney within 0.42 seconds of Markus Thormeyer‘s U Sports Record of 1:52.90. Thormeyer is notable also the Canadian Record holder with 1:50.27.

UBCT also took the women’s 200 back, where Danielle Hanus swam a 2:05.75 to grab the title by well over 3 seconds. She took the race out hard, splitting 29.79 on the first 50, which was half a second faster than anyone else.

It was a bit of a down year in the men’s 100 free, but it was also perhaps the tightest race of the meet. Toronto’s Bernard Godolphin won by a significant margin, posting a 49.01. Behind Godolphin, however, places 2nd-8th all came within 49.52 and 49.84. The U Sports Record stands at 46.94 from Yuri Kisil in 2017.

Rebecca Smith (Calgary) won the women’s 100 free with a great race of 52.90. She split the race very well, swimming a 25.53 on the first 50 and coming home in 27.37.

UBCT’s Justice Migneault got out to a huge early lead in the men’s 200 IM, splitting 25.20 on fly. He was able to hold on to his lead, swimming a 1:58.12 to touch as the only swimmer in the field under 2:00.

Western University’s Sebastian Paulins put on a show in the men’s 1500 free, swimming a 14:58.93 to finish 10 seconds ahead of the field. He was out fast, splitting 4:54.51 on the first 50om of the race, which is 14:43.53 pace, but he was unable to hold on to that pace through the middle of the race.

UBCT won the women’s 4×100 medley relay with a time of 3:58.86. They were helped by a great lead-off leg from Danielle Hanus, who swam a 57.38 100 back to get the team into the lead.

UBCT then finished the meet off in fitting fashion, taking down the U Sports Record in the men’s 4×100 medley relay. They managed to put together 4 excellent splits, starting with Tayden de Pol swimming a 51.27, which is within a second of the Canadian Record (50.40). Justice Migneault then swam a 58.77 breast leg, with Keir Ogilvie then splitting 51.74 on fly. Blake Tierney brought the squad home in 47.96, touching in a final time of 3:29.74. They cracked the previous U Sports Record of 3:32.36 by well over 2 seconds.

WOMEN’S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. University Of Toronto – 1359,50
2. UBC Thunderbirds – 1039,00
3. Univ Of Calgary Varsity Team – 888,00
4. McGILL – 700,50
5. University of Manitoba Bisons – 439,00
6. U of Victoria – 355,00
7. Western University Swimming – 311,50
8. University of Ottawa Gee-Gees – 301,00
9. Udem – 208,50
10. University Of Alberta – 186,00
11. Dalhousie University Swim Team – 174,50
12. University of Guelph/Lav – 150,00
13. –
14. McMaster University – 121,00
15. UW Warriors – 99,50
16. University of Lethbridge – 42,00
17. University of Regina Cougar Sw – 38,00
18. Université de Sherbrooke Vert – 31,00
19. Acadia University – 10,00
20. University of New Brunswick – 4,00

MEN’S FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. UBC Thunderbirds – 1207,00
2. Univ Of Calgary Varsity Team – 917,50
3. McGILL – 757,00
4. University Of Toronto – 723,50
5. University of Ottawa Gee-Gees – 637,00
6. U of Victoria – 373,50
7. Lav – 334,00
8. University Of Alberta – 274,00
9. University of Lethbridge – 270,00
10. Western University Swimming – 264,00
11. UW Warriors – 183,50
12. Dalhousie University Swim Team – 180,00
13. Udem – 134,00
14. Acadia University – 103,00
15. University of Regina Cougar Sw – 63,00
16. University of Manitoba Bisons – 43,50
17. Thompson Rivers University – 35,00
18. Wilfrid Laurier University – 34,00
19. McMaster University – 26,00
20. Carleton University – 17,00
21. University of Guelph – 10,50
22. Brock University Badgers – 5,00
23. Université de Sherbrooke Vert – 4,00