February 8, 2012
OUA WOMEN'S SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW
HAMILTON, Ont. – Swimmers from all across Ontario gather in Sudbury as Laurentian University is set to host the 2011-2012 OUA Swimming Championship beginning February 9 at the Dr. Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool. Racing will continue until Saturday, February 11 when the event will culminate with the team trophy and banner presentations.
Thirteen different OUA institutions will be represented at this year’s women’s championship and all will be looking to chase down the title from its current owner. The Western University Mustangs are the three-time defending women’s champions and will be a tough opponent to overcome but with five OUA teams ranked among the nation’s best, this year’s meet could be wide open.
Western’s women’s team is led by sisters Hayley and Shannon Nell (London, Ont.), each of whom won OUA gold a season ago. This year, Hayley has won both the 50m and 100m freestyle events twice. Her time in the 100m free stands as the best time on the season in OUA action. Younger sister Shannon looks poised to repeat her OUA gold medal in the 200m butterfly as she has claimed gold twice in the event so far this year. Other strong contributors for the Mustangs are Paulina Bond (Toronto), who won the 100m butterfly twice this season, and Ashleigh Dunnington (Prescott, Ont.) in the freestyle sprints. In the last rankings before the championships, the Mustangs were ranked sixth in the nation and do not want to relinquish their title.
The 2011-2012 season has been strong for the women from Toronto, and the No. 3 ranked Blues, who already have nine CIS qualifiers, are the best option to dethrone the Mustangs. With four returning gold medalists and all-stars from a year ago, Toronto has the ability and experience to challenge in several different events. Sophomore Vanessa Treasure (Mississauga, Ont.) has seen her fair share of success, including striking gold four times at the Tihanyi Championships. Fifth year senior Heather Maitland (Toronto) has been strong in all her freestyle events this year, winning at least once in each of the 200m, 400m, and 800m races. Other standouts for the Blues include Pamela Ruksys (Kingston, Ont.), Andrea Jurenovskis (Timmins, Ont.), and newcomer Margot Cunningham (Waterloo, Ont.) who has won the 200m backstroke event twice this season and has the fifth fastest time of all CIS swimmers.
The McMaster Marauders have a trio of strong freestyle sprinters who will be looking to make waves at this year’s championship. The Marauders are led by third year swimmer Sarah Taylor (Stittsville, Ont.) along with Emily Fung (Markham, Ont.) and Jessica MacKenzie (Innisfil, Ont.). Taylor is also a strong challenger in the butterfly, joining her teammate Lynnaea Mulligan (Surrey, B.C.), a winner in the 200m fly at a dual meet this year, in that discipline. The team’s second place finish at the Tihanyi Championships solidifies their abilities and the No. 8 ranked Marauders look to push for a podium finish at this year’s championship.
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women are strongest in the backstroke and butterfly styles and will look to pick up big points in those events at this year’s championship. Rookie Sherry Patel (Mississauga, Ont.) claimed gold in the 50m and silver in the 100m butterfly at the Ontario Cup event while Ashley Wright (Beaver Bank, N.S.) is just shy of a top ten time in the country in the 200m fly. Taylor Moore (Regina, Sask.) and Chantelle Boduel (Vancouver, B.C.) are the backstroke tandem for the Gee-Gees. Moore owns the fastest Ontario time in the 200m while also having a top ten time in the 100m. Ottawa may not have the most individual gold medals to their name, but their team performance is always strong and the No. 9 ranked Gee-Gees will be challenging for a team medal this year.
After last year’s fifth place finish, the Guelph Gryphons are looking to close the point differential with those ahead of them and move up the standings. The No. 10 ranked women are a relatively young squad but have had strong performances from several members including rookie Erica Pate (Brantford, Ont.), winner of the 100m freestyle and 200 and 400 individual medley events throughout the year, and sophomore Alisha Harricharan (Brampton, Ont.) who won three different freestyle distances and the 50m fly twice this season. Harricharan has already reached CIS qualifying times in every butterfly distance while teammate Olivia Andersen (Oakville, Ont.) also qualified in the 50m fly.
The Laurentian Lady Vees boast two swimmers having star seasons in Emily Jones (Orangeville, Ont.) and Brittany Maltais (Charlottetown, P.E.I.). Jones had three top five finishes at the Tihanyi Championships, is coming off three first place finishes at a dual meet in Waterloo, and has already qualified for the CIS championship in the 50m and 100m backstroke events. Maltais won the 50m breaststroke at the Tihanyi Championships, posting a CIS qualifying time in the process.
The Waterloo Warriors best gold medal chances fall to team captain Bronwyn Kemp (Waterloo, Ont.), winner of the 200m breaststroke at a quad meet and at the Stratten Championships, and rookie Alex Chow (Gormley, Ont.) who has set team records in the 50m and 100m butterfly this season.
The Brock Badgers have four swimmers leading the way in each event category. Delia Caughlin (St. Catharines, Ont.) is the Badgers’ breaststroke specialist, winning the 50m event at the Stratten Championships and qualifying for the CIS championships. Erica Dugas (Mississauga, Ont.) is the most consistent freestylist while Katie So (Mississauga, Ont.) excels in the butterfly and Laura Perry (Kingston, Ont.) in the backstroke.
Other teams competing at this year’s championship include the Laurier Golden Hawks, led by Renee Dijk (Stratford, Ont.) who had three top-ten finishes at the Tihanyi Championships, all in the backstroke events. Shahira Ishak (Cobham, England) of the Queen’s Gaels will be looking to make waves after leading the Gaels in every freestyle category so far this year. Having a strong year for the Trent Excalibur is Daniela Sheinin (Peterborough, Ont.), leading her team in the freestyle and butterfly. Carleton’s Alexandra Sheffield (Burlington, Ont.) has competed in every discipline so far this year and will be looking to bring some points to the Ravens squad. Sprinter Shubhangni Dagar, competing in the backstroke, freestyle and butterfly, looks to help the York Lions better their last place performance from a season ago.
Preliminary racing begins at 10 am with the first finals session beginning at 6 pm on Thursday, February 9. The last races of the championship are scheduled to begin at 6 pm Saturday evening. Each finals session will be webcast and is available at www.ssncanada.ca/games
Check back at oua.ca for updates from the OUA Swimming Championships and for complete results following the meet.
