OUA CHAMPIONSHIPS NEWS AND NOTES
Blue may be the team colour for the defending OUA men's champions from Toronto, but a small faction of the squad would probably don some red, white and green, if they had the choice. The Blues have a large contingent of Italians on the team that have bonded and even raced as a unit. The quintet includes Francesco Aguaci, Massimo Tarulli, Bryan Gonano, Marc Mazzucco and Marco Monaco. "We came together and formed an Italian relay in a tri meet," says Monaco, a second-year Political Science student from Oakville, ON. "It's a lot of fun. It's a good way to get the team together and get their spirits up."
Sibling rivalry
It's always nice to have some family around for support. Ottawa Gee-Gees swimmers Meg and Hans Fracke know the feeling well. The brother-sister combo have had the rare opportunity to compete together this season after Hans, a first-year Mechanical Engineering student, decided on the nation's capital for his schooling and swimming. "It's a lot of fun because we grew up swimming together," says Meg, a three-year vet for the Gee-Gees. "I'm glad to have him around. He knows how to make me swim faster and I help him swim fast, as well. He's been a really good addition to the team." Hans, one of the rising stars in the OUA, says that his big sister was definitely a factor in choosing Ottawa. And her success is pushing him. "She's really competitive," Hans says. "She was rookie of the year so I have to try follow in her footsteps and hold up the family name." The gifted rookie might do just that. "He's always been really good at every sport he's done," says Meg. "I'm just glad he decided to focus on swimming instead of hockey and soccer."
New kid on the block
Andrew Cole has spent many hours around the pool in his lifetime. But that doesn't mean his new gig as the head swim coach at McMaster has been a cakewalk. The Halifax native is nearing the end of his first year at the helm - and the learning curve's been, well, steep. "I think I'm climbing Mt. Everest right now," Cole says with a laugh. "It's been four years since I've been involved in varsity sport. You think you remember it all but then you remember what you didn't remember." Cole previously held positions at the National Swim Centre in Halifax and as a coach at the University of New Brunswick. The experience has obviously paid some dividends for Mac. The strong Marauders squad came into the OUAs focusing on the relay events and the results have been fantastic. "It's really made our kids rise to the next level," says Cole. "We've had 94 per cent lifetime best times. And about 85 per cent of them are in second swims in the finals." Not bad for a rookie coach.
Multi-talented Warrior
Waterloo Warriors swimmer Caroline Amyot is about as diverse as it gets in the OUA. The fifth-year Arts Management student from Perth, ON has dabbled in all sorts of sports in her distinguished tenure as a Warrior. Amyot rowed for a couple years, ran cross-country, competed in Nordic skiing and has spent the past couple years in the pool on the swim team. Oh, she's a former triathlete, too. Unfortunately, she was slowed by tendonitis in her ankle, which denied her the opportunity to run, hence the switch to the pool. "I haven't run in the last two years," says Amyot, who also represented the university at a Women of Influence luncheon in November. "I'm hoping to get back into running. Triathlon was sort of my main thing, which is why I originally got into swimming."
Citizen Theron
If you're not terribly familiar with the name Sasha Theron, then you're not alone. Chances are, the Toronto swimming sensation will be a little more well known in the near future. The Blues rookie came over from her native South Africa five years ago but just received her Canadian citizenship after having to deal with a bunch of bureaucratic red tape. Now that she's officially a Canuck, Theron can travel around more freely and continue to establish her rep as star in the making. The citizenship allowed her to go to an international world-class meet with Swim Ontario in Switzerland, where she won a medal. "She's really an unknown," says Toronto coach Byron MacDonald. "No one knows who she is. She's really improved since she came over from South Africa so she's quite an addition to the team."
One-two punch
It's good to set goals. Ask Katy Perry. The Queen's Golden Gaels veteran had one of the best races in her swimming career Friday as she won gold in the 100-metre breaststroke in a personal-best time of 1:11.99. The fourth-year history major had been focusing on that particular event all season, gunning for a 1:11.00 time, and it finally paid off. What made it even more special was that her teammate Brittany Segeren took the silver. "We had talked about trying to finish one-two in every race so it was great," said Perry.
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