Swimming
At the University of Calgary for the 2011 CIS Swimming Championships from Thursday, February 24 to Saturday, February 26, 2011 in Calgary, Alb. (SSN Canada)
The uOttawa Gee-Gees saved their best for last on the third and final day of the 2011 CIS Swimming Championships in Calgary, Alb. History was made when Matt Hawes, Ottawa, Ont., and Adam Best, Ottawa, Ont., finished one and two respectively in the men's 200m backstroke final. Matt becomes the first uOttawa swimmer to ever win a CIS swimming championship gold medal, and added to his silver medal he won last night in the 100m backstroke.
The stage was set this morning with Matt and Adam qualifying one and three after the preliminaries. Head coach Derrick Schoof was excited leading up to the final, knowing they could very well finish one and two. Matt swam the 200m backstroke in 1:56.48 for the win, while Adam swam another personal best with a time of 1:57.75 for silver.
In the women's 200m IM, Eryn Weldon, Moncton, N.B., finished 12th overall with a time of 2:19.56. In the relays, the women's 200m medley team set a new uOttawa record and finished 11th with a time of 4:19.02. All in all it was an impressive meet for the young Gee-Gees women's swim team who had to overcome the challenges of inexperience at their first CIS Championships. They finished 12th overall for their best result ever at CIS nationals.
In the men's 200m medley relay, the uOttawa Gee-Gees finished 10th with a time of 3:47.31. And with that the Gee-Gees men also finished off an impressive 2011 CIS Championships, finishing in 10th overall.
"We definitely built momentum as the meet went on. Obviously being hit hard with the flu really seemed to take the wind out of our sails in the beginning. Having such a young team coming to this meet, being inexperienced with this level of swimming really knocked them off their feet. But once we found our stride and got our momentum going on the second day, and we really swam well last night and then with Matt and Adam finishing one-two; that's pretty significant for the University of Ottawa. We had a presence at the meet with 27 swimmers, and people really took notice," said Schoof, looking back on his team's three days of swimming here in Calgary.
Schoof was especially impressed with Adam's breakthrough performance: "Matt is in a league of his own, but when it comes to Adam that was a very significant swim for us," referring to his silver performance, "because Adam last year was quite a bit further down the list, and to come here and win a silver medal certainly exceeded our expectations," said Schoof.
FINAL 2011 CIS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM RESULTS
Men
10. uOttawa Gee-Gees
Women
12. uOttawa Gee-Gees
***
FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS FROM DAY 3
Men's 200m Backstroke
1. Matt Hawes 1:56.48
2. Adam Best 1:57.75 (PB)
Women's 200m Backstroke
19. Chantelle Boduel 2:19.87
23. Eryn Weldon 2:20.61 (PB)
Men's 100m Freestyle
18. Daniel Hernandez Aldac 51.33 (PB)
32. Philippe Bastien 52.23
53. Chris Cormier 53.76
57. Harley Patterson 54.14
68. Sean Dawson 55.28
Women's 100m Freestyle
29. Kara Demers 59.13
32. Tori Temple 59.57
37. Corinne Barrette 59.93
52. Cheyanne Farguharson 1 :02.46
Men's 200m IM
25. Jose Baylon 2 :10.18
Women's 200m IM
12. Eryn Weldon 2 :19.56
26. Heather Dutton 2:27.55
30. Ashley Wright 2:28.13
Women's 800m Freestyle
17. Kara Demers 9:17.85
Men's 1500m Freestyle
19. Stefan Ruksys 16:33.96
Women's 400m Medley Relay
11. uOttawa Gee-Gees 4:19.02 (uOttawa record)
(Chantelle Boduel, Eryn Weldon, Ashley Wright, Kara Demers)
Men's 400m Medley Relay
10. uOttawa Gee-Gees 3:47.31
(Adam Best, Bernard Joosten, Harley Patterson, Daniel Hernandez Aldaco)
