POINTE CLAIRE, QUE – It was close but no cigar for the McGill University women's swim team on Day 1 at the U SPORTS championships, Thursday. A total of 350 athletes, including 161 women, from 28 universities are participating at the meet, hosted by McGill for the first time since 1979, at the Pointe Claire Aquatic Centre in Montreal's West Island region.

(LINK TO MEN'S RECAP)

The morning prelims took place in a short-course pool (i.e. 25m), which was reconfigured to 50m for the evening finals.

Top-ranked UBC holds a modest lead after a fierce head-to-head battle with the No. 2 seeded Toronto Varsity Blues to highlight the women's division. The Thunderbirds, who have won the national title in four of the last six seasons, lead all schools with a meet-high six medals after a half-dozen events, including a pair of golds, one silver and three bronzes.  UBC has racked up 550 points in the women's standings, followed by Toronto (441.5), which collected two golds, one silver and a pair of bronzes. Rounding out the top five is Calgary (272.5), McGill (223.5) and Western (111.5).

The Martlets scored their points from six swimmers in the A Finals (i.e. the Top 8), five qualifiers in the B Finals (ninth to 16th) and three more in the C Finals (17th to 24th).

McGill's closest swim to a medal was in the final race of the day, where the squad placed fourth in the 4x100m freestyle relay. They were clocked in three minutes, 54.48 seconds, which was about three seconds off the bronze medal time posted by UBC (3:51.60). The Martlets quartet featured junior Greta Zapparoli of Milan in leadoff, followed by 18-year-old freshman Maya McGhan of Ottawa, senior Elizabeth Ling of Calgary and Montrealer Cailin McMurray, a junior.

Ling also finished eighth in the 50 backstroke (30.12), while McGhan was eighth in the 100 butterfly (1:04.41).

Other A Final swims by the Martlets included Naomie Lo of Toronto, who was sixth in the 200 free (2:06.48) and Emilia Mastromatteo of Kenora, Ont., who finished sixth in the 50 back (30.03) and eighth in the 100 breaststroke (1:12.55). Her older brother, Gabe Mastromatteo, won silver for U of T in the men's 100 breast.
 
Bridget Burton of Mill Bay, B.C., and Anna Dumont-Belanger of Chilliwack, B.C., each won gold and bronze medals to pace the UBC Thunderbirds, while teammate Eloise Allen of Gibsons, B.C., collected one silver and a posted pair of bronze medal performances.
 
Burton, an Arts freshman, nudged out Allen to win the 50-metre backstroke in 28.91 seconds and was part of the bronze-medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay. Dumont-Belanger, a kinesiology senior who was part of that relay, won the first event of the day, taking the 200 free in 2:02.35.
 
For the Varsity Blues, sophomore Nina Mollin of Schaumburg, Illinois, topped the squad with two individual medals, including gold in the 100 butterfly (1:01.51) and bronze in the 400 individual medley (4:5.09).
 
Also reaching the podium three times was Calgary Dinos rookie Alexanne Lepage, highlighted by a golden performance in the 400 individual medley (4:50.26). The engineering freshman from Vernon, B.C., added silvers as part of the 4x100 freestyle relay and in the 100 breast (1:08.07), which was won by Western's Shona Branton (1:07.64).
 
"It feels awesome, the environment here is so much fun," said Lepage, whose father was originally from Montreal. "It was nice to break the ice and get the first couple of races out of the way… I was excited for all of my races today, especially the 100 breast, which was an exciting race with Shona and I was happy with the outcome. And the relays are always super-duper fun."
 
Rounding out the gold medalists was Toronto's 4x100 freestyle relay (3:50.26). That fearless foursome featured Teagan Vander Leek in the leadoff spot, followed by Raili Kary, Lily Chubaty and Ainsley McMurray. It was the third consecutive year winning gold in this relay for McMurray, an environmental science senior from Montreal and the 2024 OUA women's swimmer of the year. She added a silver in the 200 free and now has accumulated six lifetime golds at Nationals, along with five silvers and seven bronzes.
 
The meet continues on Friday with morning prelims at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern), followed by evening finals at 5:30 p.m. All schedules, live results, race entries, meet recaps and related information can be found at this website link.
 
All sessions are streamed live in English on CBC GEM and cbcsports.ca  and in French on Radio-Canada.ca/Sports and ICI Tou.TV

(LINK TO MEN'S RECAP)

Day 2 PRELIM SCHEDULE & LANE ASSIGNMENTS

INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS:
 
WOMEN
200 Freestyle: 1. Anna Dumont-Belanger, UBC, 2:02.35; 2. Ainsley McMurray, Toronto 2:02.61; 3. Haley Klenk, Toronto, 2:04.21.
100 Breaststroke: 1. Shona Brandon, Western, 1:07.64; 2. Alexanne Lepage, Calgary 1:08.07; 3. Eloise Allen, UBC, 1:10.43.
100 Butterfly: 1. Nina Mollin, Toronto,1:01.51; 2. Anais Arlandis, Montréal 1:01.73; 3. Sela Wist, UBC, 1:01.96.
50 Backstroke: 1. Bridget Burton, UBC, 28.91; 2. Eloise Allen, UBC, 29.29; 3. Hannah Johnsen, Calgary, 29.30.
400 Individual Medley: 1. Alexanne LePage, Calgary, 4:50.26; 2. Olivia Brendzan, Alberta, 4:54.59; 3. Nina Mollin, Toronto, 4:56.09.
4 x 100 Freestyle Relay: 1. Toronto (Teagan Vander Leek, Raili Kary, Lily Chubaty, Ainsley McMurray), 3:50.26; 2. Calgary (Hannah Bennett, Eliza Housman, Hannah Johnsen, Alexanne LePage), 3:51.31; 3. UBC (Anna Dumont-Belanger, Eloise Allen, Brooklyn Wiens, Bridget Burton), 3:51.60.

MEN
200 Freestyle: 1. Pablo Collin, McGill, 1:51.76; 2. Bill Dongfang, Toronto, 1:52.12; 3. Paul McKenzie Calgary, 1:53.21.
100 Breaststroke: 1. Hugo Lemesle, Ottawa, 1:02.82. 2. Gabe Mastromatteo, Toronto, 1:02.92; 3. Graeme Aylward, Toronto,1:02.93.
100 Butterfly: 1. Bill Dongfang, Toronto, 54.48; 2. Ahmed El Tatawy, Toronto, 54.64; 3. Thomas McDonald, Calgary, 54.67.
50 Backstroke: 1. Christopher Alexander, Lethbridge, 25.89; 2. Andrew Herman, Toronto, 25.91; 3. Hugh McNeill, UBC, 25.97.
400 Individual Medley: 1. Jacob Gallant, Toronto, 4:22.8; 2. Benjamin Loewen, Toronto, 4:23.34; 3. Hugh McNeill, UBC, 4:24.75.
4 x 100 Freestyle Relay: 1. Calgary (Stephen Calkins, Gibson Black, Addison Butler, Thomas Mcdonald) 3:23.65; 2. McGill (Pablo Collin, Erik Linseisen, Hazem Issa, Malachy Belkhelladi) 3:23.73; 3. UBC (Siu Lun Ho, Joel Blanco, Hugh McNeill, Jake Gaunt), 3:24.40.
 
TEAM STANDINGS AFTER DAY 1
 
WOMEN:
1. UBC, 550; 2. Toronto, 441.5; 3. Calgary, 272.5; 4. McGill, 223.5; 5. Western, 111.5; 6. McMaster, 70; 7. Manitoba, 60; 8. Victoria, 56.5; 9. Lethbridge, 53; 10. Alberta, 43; 11. Waterloo, 42; 12. Dalhousie, 34; 13. Acadia, 32; 14. Laval, 31; 15. Montréal, 28; 16. Guelph, 23; 17. Ottawa 21; 18. Brock 16 ; 19. Sherbrooke 13; 20. Regina,12.
MEN:
1. Toronto, 396; 2. UBC, 320; 3. Calgary, 291; 4. McGill, 221; 5. Ottawa, 165; 6. Alberta, 125; 7. Western, 95; 8. Waterloo, 67; 9. Lethbridge, 57; 10. Laval, 56; 11. Victoria, 47.5; 12. Dalhousie, 43; 13. McMaster, 41; 14. Laurier, 35; 15. Sherbrooke, 33; 16. Carleton, 26; 17. York, 23; 18. Manitoba, 22; 19. UQTR, 17; 20. (tie) Acadia and Regina 16; 22. UNB, 11.
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca