TROIS-RIVIERES, QUE –  Hazem Issa of Cairo, in Egypt  was named male athlete of the meet after winning three gold medals and one bronze as McGill finished first of six men's teams at the season-opening RSEQ University Cup swim meet in Trois-Rivières, Que., Friday.

In 11 races overall, the defending conference champion Redbirds collected eight gold medals, three silvers and four bronzes en route to finishing atop the standings with 502 points, beating out second-place Ottawa (313). Laval was third (245), followed by Montreal (158), Sherbrooke (80) and UQTR (0).

Issa, a 6-foot-5, 212-pound sprinter, won the 50-metre butterfly (24.59) and guided McGill to victories in both the 4x50m medley relay (1:40.51) and 4x50m freestyle relay (1:32.43). The 21-year-old civil engineering junior also posted a bronze medal performance in the 100m freestyle (51.34).

Teammate Malachy Belkhelladi of Montreal was also triple golden. The 20-year-old psychology junior won the 100 free (51.21) and helped win two relays, including the 4x50 free and the 4x200 free (7:32.93).

Other individual gold medal performances for McGill included fifth-year senior Alex Younes (200 butterfly; 2:02.39) of Montreal, junior Erik Linseisen (200 IM; 2:03.35) of Burlington, Vt., and Mats Baradat (400 free; 3:56.15), a freshman from France.

McGill swept all three relays on the men's side, to keep pace with the women's team, which accomplished the same feat.

Rounding out the aforementioned 4x50 medley relay foursome was 17-year-old Tristan Govier of West Vancouver, B.C., and Mathieu Ionescoux-Tremblay, a freshman from St. Hubert, Que., who was also part of the 4x50 free. Bruno Dehem-Lemelin , a fifth-year senior from Kirkland, Que., was part of two winning quartets, including the 4x50 free and the 4x200 free.

The second of five University Cup meets is slated for Oct. 21 at Sherbrooke.

(SEE COACH'S COMMENTS IN THE WOMEN'S RECAP)

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca