TORONTO – Naomie Lo won a pair of silver medals and broke a school record as the McGill University women's swim team rallied with four podiums on the final day to finish with five medals and end up second of 20 teams overall at the U SPORTS national championships, Saturday.
 
It was the highest finish ever at Nationals for the Martlets, whose previous best was third in 1989, 1997 and 2023.
 
Eight U SPORTS championship records fell at the meet, including two on the women's side as the UBC Thunderbirds captured the women's title with 1,472 points over the three-day competition held at Varsity Pool on the University of Toronto campus. UBC's conquest of the national banner ended U of T's reign as three-time defending champions. Rounding out the top five was McGill (936.5), Calgary (920.5), Toronto (708.5) and Alberta (366), a school that announced in late October that it is dropping its swim program after this season due to ongoing financial challenges.
 
The Martlets were sitting third after Day 1, 73 points behind second-place Calgary but narrowed the gap to five on Day 2, before outscoring the Dinos by a 345-323 margin on Day 3. It was a furious finish as McGill outpaced the omnipotent Dinos as well as the perennial OUA champion Varsity Blues in their own home pool.
 
The McGill women, who broke three school records, collected five medals, including a pair of silvers and three bronzes. They produced 23 swims in the A Finals (i.e. top 8 finish), including seven fourth-place finishes, in addition to a plethora of swims that collected points in both the B and C Finals.

"We are obviously proud, it is just incredible," said Peter Carpenter, who was named as the U SPORTS coach of the year on the women's side, an honour that he previously achieved with the men's team in 2020 and 2018. He called upon assistant coaches Savannah King and Nikki van Noord to join him on stage for the ceremonial awards photo.

"And for the women's team moving from third to second on International Women's Day, combined with having two strong and amazing female assistants next to me while this happened was just the icing on the cake. I am very humbled to get the recognition from my colleagues. It means so much. Savannah, Nikki and I worked very hard this year, but ultimately our athletes did that work this weekend that allowed this to happen.

"As has been the case before, we accomplished everything we did thanks to our depth.  We do not have any gold medals coming out of this meet, but we have an incredible sense of team and that, to me, is worth much, much more."

Lo, a 22-year-old software engineering senior from Toronto, rewrote her own school record in the 200-metre butterfly, which won silver in 2:14.01, breaking her previous mark of 2:14.51. She also swam the leadoff leg on the 4x200 freestyle relay that placed second in 8:07.88. That destroyed the school record of 8:12.00 set in 2022.
 
That quartet also included Elizabeth Ling, a civil engineering senior from Calgary, Iris Tinmouth, a microbiology and immunology junior from Comox, B.C., and Maya McGhan, a management sophomore from Ottawa.  Lo and her three relay teammates, qualified for All-Canadian second-team honours, which automatically is awarded to all silver medalists.
 
The team's bronze medal performances went to Ling (100 free; 55.23), Tinmouth (800 free; 8:49.03) and Emilie de Chazal (200 butterfly, 2:15.33), a physical education sophomore from Zug, Switzerland, who set a school record in the 100 butterfly. Her sixth-place finish in that race was clocked in 1:01.24, which erased the mark of 1:01.60 established in 2020 by Grace Valihora.

The Martlets are expecting to lose four veterans to graduation, includes the aforementioned Lo and Ling, alog with Greta Zapparoli, a management senior from Milan, Italy, and Marion Synishin, a science senior from Dartmouth, N.S.
 
LINK TO MEN'S RECAP
 
COMPLETE RESULTS
 
LIVE RESULTS AT U SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP


=====================================================================

MAJOR AWARD WINNERS

Men's Athlete of the Meet Award / Le prix d'athlète masculin des Championnats : Finlay Knox, UBC
Women's Athlete of the Meet Award / Le prix d'athlète féminine des Championnats : Kayla Sanchez, UBC
Men's Rookie of the Year / Recrue masculine de l'année : Nathan Thomas, Toronto
Women's Rookie of the Year / Recrue féminine de l'année : Raphaëlle Tremblay, Laval
Men's FOX 40 Coach of the Year Award / Prix FOX 40 de l'entraîneur de l'année en natation masculine : Paul Birmingham, Alberta
Women's FOX 40 Coach of the Year Award / Prix FOX 40 de l'entraîneur de l'année en natation féminine : Peter Carpenter, McGill
Men's Community Service Award / Prix du service communautaire masculin : Erik Linseisen, McGill
Women's Community Service Award / Prix du service communautaire féminin : Marcella Whelan, Memorial
 
TEAM STANDINGS

WOMEN (POINTS)
1. UBC, 1472.0
2. McGill, 936.5
3. Calgary, 920.5
4. Toronto, 708.0
5. Alberta, 366.0
6. Western, 264.0
7. Victoria, 231.0
8. Ottawa, 219.5
9. McMaster, 198.5
10. Guelph, 196.0
11. Lethbridge, 195.5
12. Dalhousie, 176.0
13. Brock, 170.0
14. Laval, 168.0
15. Montreal, 158.0
16. Manitoba, 148.5
17. Waterloo, 143.0
18. Acadia, 80.0
19. Sherbrooke, 8.0
20. UNB, 2.0

MEN (POINTS)
1. UBC, 1305.5
2. Toronto, 1078.0
3. Calgary, 860.0
4. McGill, 754.5
5. Alberta, 412.0
6. Western, 316.0
7. Victoria, 267.5
8. Ottawa, 260.0
9. Waterloo, 224.0
10. Lethbridge, 166.5
11. Laval, 146.5
12. York, 128.0
13. McMaster, 117.0
14. Laurier, 108.0
15. Memorial, 86.5
16. Dalhousie, 82.0
17. Montreal, 68.0
18. Manitoba, 65.0
19. Sherbrooke, 58.0
20. Carleton, 51.5
21. Regina, 50.0
22. UNB, 38.0
23. Acadia, 34.0
24. Brock, 28.5
25. UQTR, 4.0
 
MEDAL WINNERS
(25m short-course pool)

DAY 3

(W) 200m Butterfly 
1. Nina Mollin, Toronto: 2:13.29 
2. Naomie Lo, McGill: 2:14.01 
3. Emilie de Chazal, McGill: 2:15.33 

(M) 200m Butterfly 
1. Finlay Knox, UBC: 1:53.67 – U SPORTS RECORD 
2. Benjamin Loewen, Toronto: 1:54.46  
3. Bill Dongfang, Toronto: 1:56.26 

(W) 50m Breaststroke 
1. Alexanne Lepage, Calgary: 30.49 
2. Eloise Allen, UBC: 31.21 
3. Alicia L'Archeveque, UBC: 31.32  

(M) 50m Breaststroke 
1. Hugo Lemesle, Ottawa: 27.14 
2. Garrett Brendzan, Alberta: 27.35 
3. Stephen Moore, Calgary: 27.53 

(W) 100m Freestyle 
1. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC: 52.48 
2. Emma O'Croinin, UBC: 54.48 
3. Elizabeth Ling, McGill: 55.23 

(M) 100m Freestyle 
1. Eric Ginzburg, York: 48.16 
2. Chris C Weeks, Memorial: 48.18 
3. Luke Beinder-Stewart, Western: 48.39  

(W) 200m Backstroke 
1. Hannah Johnsen, Calgary: 2:09.94 
2. Angelica Bath, Toronto: 2:12.27 
3. Natascha Borromeo, UBC: 2:13.51 

(M) 200m Backstroke 
1. Blake Tierney, UBC: 1:53.27 
2. Benjamin Loewen, Toronto: 1:55.37 
3. LoÏc Courville-Fortin, McGill: 1:55.49 

(W) 800m Freestyle 
1. Emma O'Croinin, UBC: 8:36.64 
2. Ann Dumont-Belanger, UBC: 8:45.98 
3. Iris Tinmouth, McGill: 8:49.03 

(M) 1500m Freestyle 
1. Hunter Payne, Calgary: 15:09.90 
2. Olivier Risk, UBC: 15:15.52 
3. Tanner Cole, UBC: 15:18.20 

(W) 4x100M Medley Relay 
1. UBC (Bridget Burton, Eloise Allen, Una Borchgrevink, Kayla Noelle Sanchez): 3:59.16 
2. Calgary (Hannah Johnsen, Alexanne Lepage, Madisen Jacques, Eliza Housman): 4:03.89 
3. Toronto (Angelica Bath, Tina Guan, Nina Mollin, Teagan Vander Leek): 4:06.99 

(M) 4x100m Medley Relay 
1. UBC (Blake Tierney, Finlay Knox, Wells Ginzer, Joel Blanco): 3:29.52 – U SPORTS RECORD 
2. Toronto (Andrew Herman, Nathan Thomas, Ben Loewen, Albert Bouley): 3:31.82 
3. Calgary (Stephen Calkins, Nicholas Duncan, Thomas Mcdonald, Gibson Black): 3:34.82 

DAY 2

(W) 50m Freestyle 
1. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC: 24.18 - U SPORTS RECORD 
2. Teagan Vander Leek, Toronto: 25.27
3. Zea M Wetzlaughk, Western: 25.61

(M) 50m Freestyle
1. Eric Ginzburg, York: 21.80
2. Albert Bouley, Toronto: 21.84
3. Liam Weaver, Toronto: 21.89

(W) 200m Breaststroke 
1. Alexanne Lepage, Calgary: 2:25.73
2. Emma Spence, UBC: 2:28.93
3. Romane Hereng, Montreal: 2:30.01

(M) 200m Breaststroke 
1. Hugo Lemesle, Ottawa: 2:08.06
2. Nathan Thomas, Toronto: 2:09.10
3. Tanner Cole, UBC: 2:09.70

(W) 400m Freestyle
1. Emma O'Croinin, UBC: 4:09.88
2. Anna Dumont-Belanger, UBC: 4:13.65
3. Raphaelle Tremblay, Laval: 4:14.13

(M) 400m Freestyle
1. Olivier Risk, UBC: 3:49,79
2. Mats Baradat, McGill: 3:50.08
3. Quinn Matties, Toronto: 3:51.12

(W) 100m Backstroke
1. Bridget Burton, UBC: 59.30
2. Hannah Johnsen, Calgary: 1:00.26
3. Tatum O'Connor, Brock: 1:00.31

(M) 100m Backstroke
1. Blake Tierney, UBC: 51.00 - U SPORTS RECORD
2. Andrew Herman, Toronto: 51.49
3. Benjamin Loewen, Toronto: 52.85

(W) 200m Individual Medley
1. Nina Mollin, Toronto: 2:13.46
2. Camryn Stannard, UBC: 2:14.46
3. Emma Spence, UBC: 2:16.04

(M) 200m Individual Medley
1. Finlay Knox, UBC: 1:54.15 - U SPORTS RECORD
2. Loic Courville-Fortin, McGill: 1:57.57
3. Kent Goni Avilla, Laurier: 1:58.07

(W) 50m Butterfly 
1. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC: 25.85 - U SPORTS RECORD
2. Eloise Allen, UBC: 26.59
3. Una Borchgrevink, UBC: 27.00

(M) 50m Butterfly
1. Eric Ginzburg, York: 23.05 - U SPORTS RECORD
2. Kai Lilienthal, UBC: 23.14
3. Finlay Knox, UBC: 23.35

(W) 4x200m Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Anna Dumont-Belanger, Emma O'Croinin, Camryn Stannard, Kayla Sanchez): 7:54.04
2. McGill (Naomie Lo, Elizabeth Ling, Iris Tinmouth, Maya McGhan): 8:07.88
3. Calgary (Alexanne Lepage, Hannah Johnsen, Emily De Jager, Hannah Bennett): 8:10.98

(M) 4x200m Freestyle Relay
1. UBC (Blake Tierney, Jake Gaunt, Olivier Risk, Finlay Knox): 7:07.23 - U SPORTS RECORD
2. Toronto (Ben Winterborn, Brendan Oswald, Bill Dongfang, Quinn Matteis): 7:16.24
3. Victoria (Ricky Millns, Elijah Agostinelli-Stull, Matthew MacDonald, Keir Ogilvie): 7:17.33

DAY 1

(W) 200M Freestyle  
1. Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC: 1:54.74 
2. Emma O'Croinin, UBC: 1:56.44 
3. Anna Dumont-Belanger, UBC: 1:59.13 

(M) 200m Freestyle 
1. Paul McKenzie, Alberta: 1:47.02 
2. Bill Dongfang, Toronto: 1:47.07 
3. Ben Winterborn, Toronto: 1:47.55 

(W) 100m Breaststroke 
1. Alexanne Lepage, Calgary: 1:05.79 
2. Eloise Allen, UBC: 1:07.41 
3. Romane Hereng, Montreal: 1:08.72 

(M) 100m Breaststroke 
1. Nicholas Duncan, Calgary: 59.38 
2. Hugo Lemesle, Ottawa: 59.48  
3 (tie). Nathan Thomas, Toronto: 59.60 
3 (tie). Justice Migneault, UBC: 59.60 

(W) 100m Butterfly 
1. Nina Mollin, Toronto: 59.71 
2. Una Borchgrevink, UBC: 1:00.03  
3. Brooklyn Weins, UBC: 1:00.67 

(M) 100m Butterfly 
1. Eric Ginzburg, York: 51.89 
2. Wells Ginzer, UBC: 52.53 
3. Thomas Mcdonald, Calgary: 52.76 

(W) 50m Backstroke 
1. Eloise Allen, UBC: 27.45 
2. Bridget Burton, UBC: 27.50 
3. Tatum Connor, Brock: 27.65 

(M) 50m Backstroke 
1. Finlay Knox, UBC: 23.39 – U SPORTS RECORD 
2. Blake Tierney, UBC: 23.74 
3. Andrew Herman: Toronto: 23.77 

(W) 400m Individual Medley 
1. Alexanne Lepage, Calgary: 4:42.17 
2. Olivia Brendzan, Alberta: 4:43.53 
3. Emma Spence, UBC: 4:45.53 

(M) 400m Individual Medley 
1. Tanner Cole, UBC: 4:13.67 
2. Jacob Gallant, Toronto: 4:16.08 
3. Hugh McNeill, UBC: 4:17.12 

(W) 4x100m Freestyle Relay 
1. UBC (Emma O'Croinin, Anna Dumont-Belanger, Bridget Burton, Kayla Noelle Sanchez): 3:37.78 
2. Calgary (Eliza Housman, Hannah Johnsen, Alexanne Lepage, Hannah Bennett): 3:44.54  
3. Toronto (Kayla Houlder, Gemma Norman, Katie Marovino, Teagan Vander Leek): 3:45.95 

(M) 4x100m Freestyle Relay 
1. UBC (Finlay Knox, Blake Tierney, Jake Gaunt, Joel Blanco): 3:11.80 – U SPORTS RECORD 
2. Toronto (Andrew Herman, Ben Winterborn, Liam Weaver, Albert Bouley): 3:14.58 
3. Calgary (Gibson Black, Stephen Calkins, Ethan Fast, Thomas Mcdonald): 3:15.40 

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Info Officer
McGill Athletics & Recreation
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 983-7012 (cell)