Banner Season: Varsity Blues make a splash on Day 1 of the championship action
Markham, Ont. (via the McMaster Marauders) — The Toronto Varsity Blues made their mark on the opening day of the 2025 OUA Swimming Championships at the Pan Am Centre in Markham, continuing their decade-long dominance in the pool. Having won 10 consecutive OUA titles, the Blues are on pace to extend their streak.
Toronto leads the men's team standings with 336.5 points, followed by Western (192.5), Waterloo (172.5), McMaster (170.5) and Laurier (111). On the women's side, the Blues sit at the number one spot with 289 points, ahead of Western (231), McMaster (193), Waterloo (159.5) and Guelph (148.5).
The Varsity Blues added more OUA records to their already impressive resume. Benjamin Loewen edged out the previous OUA record holder, York's Eric Ginzburg, to take gold in the Men's 100 SC Meter Butterfly with a time of 52.41. Ginzburg set the previous record (52.57) during prelims earlier in the day, which was then broken by Loewen in the finals.
In the Men's 50 SC Meter Backstroke preliminary event, recording a time of 24.86, Varsity Blues' Andrew Herman bested his own OUA record previously set during the 2024 season. However, the record was short-lived, as teammate Ben Winterborn took gold in the final and set a new OUA best with a time of 24.79. Herman secured silver, also surpassing his previous record at 24.83, while Toronto's Albert Bouley rounded out the podium with a time of 24.97, completing a Varsity Blues sweep.
The Toronto relay squads proved to be dominant in the water. The Varsity Blues' Men's 4x50 SC Meter Freestyle Relay team (Misha Bagrianski, Andrew Herman, Albert Bouley, Liam Weaver) made history, setting a new OUA record with a time of 1:29.41 to win gold. Meanwhile, Toronto's Men's 4x100 SC Metre Medley Relay team (Carter Buck, Thomas Nathan, Benjamin Loewen and Ben Winterborn) shattered the OUA record, which was originally set by Toronto alumni in 2017 (3:38.31), clocking in at 3:36.39.
Lastly, it was Varsity Blues' veteran, Jacob Gallant who stole the show during the final individual event of the day. For the fourth straight season, Gallant was crowned the Men's 400 SC Meter IM OUA champion, winning gold in 4:14.16.
PARAS
Para Athletes Katie Cosgriffe of Laurier and Charlie Gimmichele of McMaster also made notable waves and delivered record breaking performances. Cosgriffe broke the World Para Swimming Americas S10 Record in both the 50 SC Meter and 100 SC Meter Butterfly events. Giammichele broke a handful of records of his own including the World Para Swimming Americas S7 Record in the 50SC Meter and 100 SC Meter Butterfly, as well as the World Para Swimming Americas SB7 record in the 50 SC Meter and 100 SC Meter Breaststroke. Giammichele also set new provincial and Canadian records in the SB7 50 SC Meter and 100 SC Meter Breaststroke, along with the provincial record in the S7 100 SC Meter Butterfly.
The 2025 OUA Swimming Championships resume tomorrow (Feb. 8). Day two preliminary heats begin at 10:00 a.m., and the finals are set for 6:00 p.m.
DAY 1 TEAM STANDINGS
Men:
Toronto – 336.5
Western – 192.5//
Waterloo – 172.5
McMaster – 170.5
Laurier – 111
Brock – 100.5
York – 73
Carleton – 56
Guelph – 55
Queen's – 43.5
Women:
Toronto – 289
Western – 231
McMaster –193
Waterloo – 159.5
Guelph – 148.5
Brock – 109
Laurier – 69
Queen's – 48
Carleton – 36
York – 28
DAY 1 INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS (Friday)
Women's 4x50 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
1. Toronto 1:42.77 (Teagan Vander Leek, Gemma Norman, Angelica Bath, Kayla Houlder)
2. Western 1:43.37 (Zae Wetzlaugk, Leah Butler, Chloe Baker, Katie Graboski)
3. McMaster 1:44.35 (Chizam Nkechika, Amy Tian, Amila Skula, Shaunna Walker-Dejong)
Men's 4x50 SC Meter Freestyle Relay
1. Toronto 1:29.41* OUA RECORD (Misha Bagrianski, Andrew Herman, Albert Bouley, Liam Weaver)
2. Waterloo 1:32.08 (Allen Zheng, Cristian Ciorogariu, Gavin Lusby, Louie Yin)
3. Western 1:33.68 (Luca Cappelletto, Jackson Waddell,Tyrell O'Dwyer, Hanwen Luo)
Women's 200 SC Meter Freestyle
1. Katie Marovino, Toronto, 2:00.93
2. Danie Treasure, Western, Keira Brazeau, Western, 2:01.47
3. Liz Greaves, Guelph, 2:01.79
Men's 200 SC Meter Freestyle
1. Kieran Stone, Western, 1:47.66
2. Bill Dongfang, Toronto, 1:47.90
3. Finn Tuck, Carleton, 1:48.36
Women's 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
1. Tina Guan, Toronto, 1:10.80
2. Grace Chai, Brock, 1:10.88
3. Nicole Lau, Waterloo, 1:11.48
Men's 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
1. Cameron Carter-Courchene, Brock,
2. Nathan Thomas, Toronto,
3. Hayden Yeung, McMaster,
Women's 100 SC Meter Butterfly
1. Hannah Gallagher, Waterloo, 1:00.41
2. Sydney Stewart, Toronto, 1:00.75
3. Ali Bertrim, Guelph, 1:01.03
Men's 100 SC Meter Butterfly
1. Benjamin Loewen, Toronto, 52.41* OUA RECORD
2. Eric Ginzburg, York, 52.59
3. Alex Boden, Waterloo, 53.24
Women's 50 SC Meter Backstroke
1. Tatum O'Connor, Brock, 27.87
2. Leah Butler, Western, 28.46
3. Angelica Bath, Toronto, 28.68
Men's 50 SC Meter Backstroke
1. Ben Winterborn, Toronto, 24.79* OUA RECORD
2. Andrew Herman, Toronto, 24.83
3. Albert Bouley, Toronto, 24.97
Women's 400 SC Meter IM
1. Nina Mollin, Toronto, 4:44.60
2. Robin Vadeika, Western, 4:53.56
3. Sydney Stewart, Toronto, 4:54.57
Men's 400 SC Meter IM
1. Jacob Gallant Toronto, 4:14.16
2. Brendan Oswald, Toronto, 4:20.10
3. Kieran Stone, Western, 4:22.05
Women's 4x100 SC Meter Medley Relay
1. Toronto, 4:12.88 (Teagan McKenzie, Tina Guan, Angel Yao, Katie Marovino)
2. Guelph, 4:13.23 (Alanna Casasanta, Hannah Nordquist, Ali Bertrim, Liz Greaves)
3. Western, 4:14.63 (Hannah Estabrooks, Lauren Leung, Gabriella Casasanta, Isabella Howes)
Men's 4x100 SC Meter Medley Relay
1. Toronto, 3:36.39* OUA RECORD (Carter Buck, Nathan Thomas, Benjamin Loewen, Ben Winterborn)
2. McMaster, 3:42.31 (Emilio Gonzalez Maciel, Hayden Yeung, Colin Campbell, Preston McMann)
3. Waterloo, 3:42.76 (Louie Yin, Liam Wallich, Alex Boden, Allen Zheng)