Toronto's Masse named U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Week

TORONTO (U SPORTS) – Kylie Masse from the University of Toronto Varsity Blues and Antoine Bernard-Lalonde of the Montreal Carabins are the ArcelorMittal Dofasco U SPORTS female and male athletes of the week for the period ending February 12, 2017.

Masse, the reigning BLG Award winner as U SPORTS Female Athlete of the Year, won six gold medals – four individual and two relay – while setting four conference records as the Varsity Blues won their fourth straight OUA Swimming Championship at home over the weekend. The third-year kinesiology student from Lasalle, Ont., finished first in the 50-metre (26.62 seconds), 100-metre (56.40) and 200-metre (2:03.71) backstroke, as well as the 200-metre individual medley (2:09.54), breaking the OUA mark in all four events with an average margin of victory of 4.595 seconds. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist also struck gold in the 4x50-metre medley and 4x100-metre freestyle relays.

Masse was named OUA swimmer of the year for the third-straight season.

Swimmers Phoebe Lenderyou of the Dalhousie Tigers, and Sandrine Mainville of the Montreal Carabins, along with Saskatchewan Huskies wrestler Katie Dutchak were also nominated for the women's award.

Bernard-Lalonde, a first-year arts and science major from Montreal, captured five gold and one silver medal as the Carabins won the RSEQ Swimming Championship. The rookie touched the wall first in the 100-metre (49.68 seconds) and 200-metre freestyle (1:50.88) events, while helping set a new RSEQ record in the 4x50-metre freestyle relay, finishing the race in 1:31.59. Bernard-Lalonde also helped the Carabins win the 4x100-metre freestyle relay (3:21.35), and added a silver medal in the 50-metre freestyle (22.59). 

Averaging a 1.2-second margin in his five victories, Bernard-Lalonde was named swimmer of the meet for the Carabins.

Swimmers Gavin Dyke of the Dalhousie Tigers and Hochan Ryu of the Toronto Varsity Blues, along with Alberta Golden Bears wrestler Marcus Peterson were the other male nominees. 

The U SPORTS Swimming Championships run Feb. 23-25 at the University of Sherbrooke.

Female nominees:
AUS: Phoebe Lenderyou, swimming, Dalhousie
RSEQ: Sandrine Mainville, swimming, Montreal 
OUA: Kylie Masse, swimming, Toronto (recipient)
CWUAA: Katie Dutchak, wrestling, Saskatchewan
Male nominees:
AUS: Gavin Dyke, swimming, Dalhousie
RSEQ: Antoine Bernard-Lalonde, swimming, Montreal (recepient)
OUA: Hochan Ryu, swimming, Toronto
CWUAA: Marcus Peterson, wrestling, Alberta