CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: RSEQ Swimming Championships this Weekend
The team is looking to challenge for second place in both the men’s and women’s team standings.
The Gee-Gees swim team will no doubt be bringing some hardware home from the RSEQ Championships – the only question is how high the team scores can go. As the Garnet and Grey head to Sherbrooke for the second RSEQ Conference Championship in team history, the team is looking to challenge for second place in both the men's and women's team standings.
For the men, all 18 scorers will be leaned upon to get the team onto the second spot on the podium. "The men shook everything up at Cups 3 and 4 by winning but in order to move up we will have to have a great meet from everyone," says Gee-Gees head coach Dave Heinbuch, who is entering his seventh championship season with uOttawa.
"Relays will be extremely important for both teams as it shows the depth of all teams competing," continues Heinbuch.
The Gee-Gees men claimed nine individual medals and golds in the 400 and 800-metre freestyle relays at last year's championships, with Davide Casarin winning six gold medals in total. Graduated student-athlete Montana Champagne provided three individual medals while second-year electrical engineering student Aleksandar Plackoski joins Casarin as a returning individual medallist, having won bronze in the 200 fly last year.
Challenging for their first career RSEQ medals will be William Barrett, Thomas Boyd, Allen Zheng, Conor Smyth, Louis Bertrand, Noah Wagner, and team newcomer Nathan Schiffmann. Zheng will also be chasing a U SPORTS qualifying time, along with Ethan Rice, Dawson Konrad, and Gordon Forrest who are all hoping to qualify this weekend for the nationals which will take place in Victoria, B.C. Feb. 20-22.
The Gee-Gees women will be chasing the McGill Martlets in order to capture silver this weekend. Last year, the team totaled eight individual medals, led by a gold, silver, and bronze from Delphine Vandal in the distance freestyle events, as well as three relay medals in the freestyle events. Vandal is back this season for her fifth and final championship season and has nine career medals in total. Lauren Shearer and Adelle Yamashita-Ball are returning medallists, having each won their first two career medals last season.
"The women's team seems to surprise everyone at the big meets, particularly at last year's RSEQ championships, and I expect nothing different this year," notes Heinbuch.
Earlier this season the team of Abby Simms, Alison Riddoch, Mayhève Rondeau, and Morgan McCartney set a new Gee-Gees record in the 200 freestyle relay; only Rondeau was on the silver-medal winning squad at last year's RSEQ meet.
Looking to lock up their spot at nationals on the women's team are Morgan McCartney, Samantha Mallon, Kate Nielson and Mayhève Rondeau.
Live results from the RSEQ Championships will be available at https://live.swimrankings.net/26988/
Finals start at 6 p.m. on Friday, 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 3 p.m. on Sunday, with prelims on Saturday and Sunday mornings.