MONTREAL –
Emilia Mastromatteo of Kenora, Ont., won four gold medals, smashed a school record and was named female swimmer of the meet as McGill waltzed through the women's division at the RSEQ conference's Cup 1 meet to open the season on Friday, at the University's Memorial Pool inside the Sir Arthur Currie Gym.
The defending RSEQ conference champion McGill Martlets picked up where they left off last year, when they swept all five league meets. They finished first of six teams in Friday's meet, amassing 643 points to easily out-distance second-place Ottawa (384). Laval was third with 223, followed by the Montreal Carabins (190), Sherbrooke (68) and UQTR (56).
The Martlets cleaned up in the medal count. In the 11 events, they produced 20 podium finishes, including eight golds, six silvers and eight bronzes. Ottawa was next with six medals (1-3-2), followed by Laval (1-2-1) and Montreal (1-0-0).
"We have a strong team and even with a number of key figures out of our line up on the day we have incredible depth that can fill in and get the job done," said McGill head coach
Peter Carpenter. "Many of our first-year swimmers achieved personal best times showing that they are adapting well to the training plan, so we hope to be able to continue pushing forward."
On the men's side, the defending league champion McGill Redbirds finished first of six teams with 544.5 points, well ahead of second-place Ottawa (326). The Montreal Carabins were third at 272, followed by Laval (241), Sherbrooke (125) and UQTR (60.5).
Mastromatteo, a 20-year-old science junior majoring in anatomy and cellular biology, broke the school record in the 50-metre butterfly. The 5-foot-6 sprinter was clocked in 27.15 seconds to reach the qualifying standard for Nationals and break the team's previous mark of 27.37 set in 2021 by Martlets swim alum
Isabel Sarty, a master's student who has consumed her collegiate eligibility but was in attendance to witness her record fall.
The other races won by Mastromatteo include the 50 butterfly (28.92), the 50 backstroke (28.92) and the 100 back (1:01.99), which all met the qualifying standards. Her performance overshadowed a triple golden effort by veteran
Naomie Lo (100 free, 400 free, 4x200 free)..
Teammate
Elizabeth Ling struck gold twice (4x50 free, 4x50 IM) and added a pair of silvers.
Greta Zapparoli produced a pair of gold medal swims (4x50 free, 4x50 IM), to go along with one bronze. And
Maya McGhan also had two gold medal finishes (4x50 free, 4x200 free). Rounding out the McGillians to win a race was
Iris Tinmouth (4x200 free),
Rachael Blackmore (4x50 free),
Beatrice Weiss-Reid (4x200 free) and
Valentina Kolytchev (4x50 IM).
The second University Cup meet is slated for Oct. 26 at Sherbrooke.
LINK TO MEN'S RECAP
COMPLETE RESULTS
RSEQ SWIMMING SCHEDULE & RESULTS
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
CELL:
514-983-7012
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
