University of Toronto Intercollegiate Athletics - VARSITY BLUES SWIMMERS IMPRESS AT ONTARIO CUP

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VARSITY BLUES SWIMMERS IMPRESS AT ONTARIO CUP

1/17/2010 3:27:57 PM

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues hosted over 400 of the province’s top swimmers at the 2009 Ontario Cup, January 16-17, at Varsity Pool.

Leading the way was Varsity Blues reigning national champion Zack Chetrat (Oakville, Ont.) with a double-gold performance in both the 200m freestyle and 200m butterfly.

"Zack's 200 fly was so controlled that it bodes well for his performance on the national title later in Febraury," said head coach Byron MacDonald.

Second-year standout Andrea Jurenovskis of Timmins, Ont. earned the gold medal in the 100m backstroke with a time of 1:02.46.

"The impressive part of her race was that she was trailing at the three-quarters mark and then came home great to win the race," said MacDonald.

Blues swimmers picked up two more gold medals against the top competition; Martyn Forde (St. John, Barbados) won the men’s 100m freestyle in the outside lane, while Oakville, Ont. native Curtis Samuel won the 400 individual medley (IM).

"Curtis has been stepping up his training and focus this year and its paying off," said assistant coach Linda Kiefer.

Blues co-captain Marco Monaco earned three silver medals in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, as well as the 200m IM.

"There is always a need for a good meet right after the Christmas training period and this meet serves that purpose," said MacDonald. "Sometimes the swimmers and coaches forget that training is a means to an end, and not an end in itself. You are training to be able to race so there needs to be some meets where the swimmers are forced to get up and perform. From that they can evaluate their progress."

Another big highlight for the Blues was the effort of four swimmers that qualified for the CIS national championships, hosted by the University of Toronto, February 18-20, 2010.

Joining the 21 Blues that have already qualified will be second-year Troy MacDonald (Toronto) in the 50m butterfly, rookie Rebecca Sharpe (Bermuda) in the 100m backstroke, sophomore Geroge Soules (Toronto) in the sprint freestyle and Julia Boron (Mississauga, Ont.) in the 200m freestyle.

Full Results

For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite Toronto teams, please visit the home of the Varsity Blues at http://www.varsityblues.ca.

2009-10 CIS Swimming Championships
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Feb

March 2010

Apr

Wed, Mar. 10, 2010

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Athletes of the Week

Shujon Mazumder

Wrestling

Varsity Blues standout Shujon Mazumder was named the outstanding male wrestler after dominating the 54kg category en route to a gold medal at the 2010 CIS wrestling championships, March 5-6, at the University of Calgary.

Mazumder, who was also named outstanding wrestler at the OUA championships earlier this season, defeated Regina’s Steven Schneider in the final of the 54kg to cap off an amazing season on the mats. The Toronto native is the first U of T student-athlete to earn outstanding wrestler of the year honours at the national level.

Mazumder joins Peter Brown on the list of male Varsity Blues athletes who have reached the top of the national podium. After finishing third in 1995, Brown won the 90kg event in 1996. Since then, no other U of T wrestler has finished in the top-three in the country.

Heather Bansley

Women's Volleyball

In her last games as a Varsity Blue and first on the national stage, fifth-year leftside hitter Heather Bansley tallied 49 kills and 33 digs to lead the University of Toronto to a sixth-place finish at the 2010 CIS women’s volleyball championships.

A native of Waterdown, Ont., Bansley was named the player of the match in two-of-three contests this weekend. The CIS first team all-Canadian led the Blues with 13 kills and 10 digs in a tough 3-0 quarter-final loss to the eventual silver-medalist Manitoba Bisons.

Bansley, the 2010 OUA player of the year, then led all players with an outstanding 24 kills and 13 digs in a five-set thriller as Toronto upset the No. 2 Montreal Carabins in the consolation semifinal. The English and linguistics major capped off her Varsity career with a game-high 12 kills and 10 digs versus the Regina Cougars.

Bansley ends her university career as an OUA champion and the CIS leader in kills per game (4.26), points per game (5.19) and serving aces per game (0.70).