TROIS-RIVIERES, QUE – Hazem Issa, an Egyptian who hails from Cairo, was named male athlete of the meet for the third time this season as the McGill men's swim team finished first of six schools to win the third leg of the RSEQ University Cup series, Friday, at the UQTR pool.
 
Of the 11 events held, the Redbirds posted a stellar tally of 19 podiums, with seven gold medal finishes, three silvers and nine bronzes. They finished atop the meet standings with 497 points to outdistance second-place Ottawa (281), Laval (219), Montreal (189.5), Sherbrooke (11.5) and UQTR (0).
 
"The team did a great job transitioning from one meet to the next this week," said Savannah King, the squad's full-time assistant coach. "We had a long four-day meet last weekend, came back home and swam a pretty tough week of training, and then we had to race again at the end of this week. For them to put up some good times in their races on Friday shows the resolve of our swimmers."

Issa, a 21-year-old civil engineering senior, won three gold medals and a silver, in addition to being the highest scoring athlete of the meet with 636 points, based upon the worldwide FINA scale. The 6-foot-5, 212-pound sprinter won the 50m butterfly (24.24), where he met the qualifying standard for Nationals. He also guided McGill to victory in the 4x50 freestyle (1:31.78) and the 4x200 free (7:31.25). His silver medal performance occurred in the 100 free (51.51).
 
Joining Issa on the winning 4x50 freestyle relay was Mathieu Ionescoux-Tremblay, Malachy Belkhelladi and Bruno Dehem-Lemelin. Others on the wining 4x200 included Erik Linseisen, Mats Baradat and Artiom Volodin.
 
Belkhelladi, a Montrealer, ended up with a pair of gold medal finishes, in addition to one silver and a bronze. The 20-year-old psychology junior won the 100 free (50.69), finished second in the 4x50 medley relay and third in the 200 individual medley.
 
Linseisen, a civil engineering junior from Burlington, Vt., also won the 200 IM (2:03.33) and Baradat, who hails from France, won the 400 free (3:54.63).
 
The fourth of five University Cup meet is slated for a date to be confirmed in mid-January at Ottawa. The regular season concludes with the RSEQ championship, to be hosted by Laval, in Quebec City, Feb. 17-18. That will be the last opportunity to qualify for the U SPORTS national championships, hosted by McGill, at the Pointe Claire pool, Mar. 7-9.
 
"Liz Ling (named female swimmer of the meet) and Hazem Issa continue to put themselves at the helm of the RSEQ conference," King added. "They are incredibly consistent at these in-season meets, but they really have their eyes set on the national championship at home."
 
COMPLETE RESULTS
 
LINK TO ARTICLE ON WOMEN'S ARTICLE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL: 514-983-7012
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca