The Varsity Blues men’s swimming team were crowned champions, while the women finished second at the 2011 OUA championships, February 10-12, at the University of Guelph pool.
The Blues won their 10th title in the past 11 years with a combined team score of 793.5 points, well ahead of the second-place Western Mustangs (652) and third-place McMaster Marauders (618.5). U of T’s women finished second (734.5) to the Western Mustangs (781.5) for the third consecutive year.
Toronto earned a total of 38 medals and broke nine OUA records over the three-day event. Third-year standout Andrea Jurenovskis was named the female swimmer of the year, while Byron MacDonald and Linda Kiefer were named the coaches of the year on the men’s side.
"Guelph is the perfect size pool to hold the OUA championships, " said MacDonald. "It's big enough to allow for the proper preparation, yet small enough to keep everyone close to the action and hear them all cheering."
Third-year standout Zack Chetrat broke his third individual OUA record in three days en route to a first-place finish in the men’s 100 butterfly (53.86). The Oakville, Ont., native set earlier records in the men’s 400 freestyle, 200 butterfly and also anchored the first-place and record-breaking men’s 800 freestyle relay team.
Jurenovskis also ended the three-day competition with a recording-breaking performance. The Timmins, Ont., native bettered Olympian Julie Howard’s 2001 record (28.93) in the 50 backstroke with a time of 28.71 to sweep the women’s backstroke events. She also earned a silver medal in the 50 butterfly and swam the first leg of a record-breaking 400 medley relay for the Blues.
Other top results on Day 3 included Poppy Ruksys and Vanessa Treasure’s 1-2 finish in the women’s 400 IM. Similarly, Paige Schultz and Ruksys placed second and third, respectively, in the 200 freestyle. Frank Despond and rookie Jeremie Holdom also earned silver medals in the 200 freestyle and 400 IM.
Full Results
Day 1 Recap
Day 2 Recap
The Varsity Blues will now prepare for the 2011 CIS swimming championships, February 24-26, in Calgary.
