Bielby bronzed on Day 2 at CIS swim championships

 

 

TORONTO - McGill sophomore Steven Bielby of Pointe Claire, Que., won bronze in the 400-metre freestyle on Day 2 of the CIS swimming championships hosted by the University of Toronto, Friday.

 

The three-day meet wraps up Saturday with prelims starting at 10 a.m. Eastern and finals at 6 p.m. For live results & video webcast of finals: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/swim

 

Bielby, who has now won five CIS championship medals over his two years at McGill, was clocked in 3:51 flat, to place fractions of a second behind U of T's Zach Chetrat (3:50.34) and Calgary's David Woodman (3:50.96).

 

Chetrat has made his mark on this year's championship, completing a rare "double-double".  Already a gold medalist in the 100-metre butterfly, the Oakville native won the men's 400 freestyle (3:50.34), dethroning Bielby, the defending CIS champion.

 

"Unfortunately, he was on the wrong side of the touch-out in another incredibly close finish," said McGill head coach Peter Carpenter.  "Both Chetrat and Woodman got by him on the last 50 metres.  He was disappointed with the result, but knows that he has two more swims (Saturday) to try and continue his medal haul."

 

Just three events later, the defending national champion in the 200 butterfly was golden again. Chetrat out-distanced himself in the last 100 metres to claim his third gold medal of 2010 in a time of 1:56.7. David Sharpe, the AUS champion from the Dalhousie Tigers, who finished behind Chetrat in the 100 fly, claimed his fourth CIS medal (1:58.53). Sharpe also won the 50-metre backstroke on Thursday and was a silver-medalist in the 100 back tonight.

 

In other McGill highlights, Leanne Roach, a sophomore from Gander, Nfld., and senior Kristyna Cleminson of Belleville, Ont., both posted personal bests and made the consolation finals in the women's 200 breaststroke. Roach posted a 2:35.70 time to finish 12th overall, while Cleminson finished 14th in 2:36.76.

 

Brazilian sophomore Diego Pessoa finished 14th overall in the men's 50 free (23.31) and freshman Myriam Donato of Pointe Claire, finished 16th in the women's 200 fly (2:22.09).

 

McGill also posted seasonal bests in two other races, swimming faster than they did last year in both the men's and women's 4 X 200 free relays. The Martlets quartet of Donato, Valérie Grand'Maison, Elana Evans and Roach were 13th in 8:49.53. The Redmen quad included Sean Bell, Jason Boivin, Hector Hernandez and Bielby, were 12th in 7:35.95.

 

In the team standings, the Redmen are 12th overall, while the Martlets are 14th of 20 teams.

In other non-McGill results, a record-breaking performance from veteran Colin Russell and two individual gold-medals from Chetrat helped UofT close the gap between first and second place in the men's standings. The Varsity Blues remain in second place with 398 points but are only 24.5 points behind Calgary (422.5).

 

It's a different story on the women's side where Calgary's women's team has enjoyed its time in Varsity Pool and extended their lead (443) over the second-place UBC Thunderbirds (379) and third-place Montreal Carabins (291).

 

In his final year of university competition, Russell of Burlington, Ont. broke the CIS record twice in the men's 50 free on Friday. The 2008 Olympian established an new time of 21.93 in the preliminaries before besting that time with 21.73 in the final to claim his second gold of the meet.

 

Ryan Gow, the 2010 Canada West champion, picked up the silver medal for the second consecutive year (22.24), while U of T's Martyn Forde, a four-time medalist in this event, was third (22.35).

 

Laval's Eric Cantin led a trio of first-time medalists in the men's 50 fly.  The 2010 QSSF swimmer of the year can now add CIS champion to his resume. In a close race to the very end, Cantin hit the wall in a time of 24.36, edging out U of T's Mike Smerek (24.39). Sherbrooke's Mark Maizonnasse was third (24.85).

 

On the women's side, Katy Murdoch of the Calgary Dinos continued to shine. She successfully defended her title in the 100 back (59.31), picking up her fifth medal in as many years.  She also holds two silver medals and one bronze in this event. Toronto's Andrea Jurenovskis, the 2009 bronze medalist, was second (1:00.72).

 

Audrey Lacroix claimed her fourth first-place finish in the women's 200 fly (2:09.37). After a year's absence, she reclaimed her 2008 title, finishing 2.13 seconds ahead of silver medalist Erin Miller of UBC (2:11.50).

 

Chantique Payne of the Guelph Gryphons out-touched the field in the 50 fly, bettering McMaster's Sarah Taylor by 0.13 seconds. Payne, the 2010 OUA champion, finished the race in a time of 27.34 with Taylor touching the wall at 27. 47.  Charlotte Dandurand of the Laval Rouge et Or was third (27.65), while Montreal's Lacroix was fourth (27.69).

 

As they did last year, UBC swept the women's 200-metre breaststroke. The T-Birds were led by third-year swimmer Martha McCabe of Toronto, who claimed gold (2:21.91), while teammate Hanna Pierse, sister of 2009 CIS champion and Canadian-record holder in this event Annamay Pierse, finished second (2:26.26). Laura Thompson was third (2:28.93)

 

Kevyn Peterson, the 2010 Canada West champion, turned her bronze into gold on Friday night.  The three-time CIS bronze medalist in the 400 freestyle finally claimed the long-awaited gold medal (4:08.71).

 

Calgary Dinos sensation Erica Morningstar defended her 2009 CIS title in the 50 free (25.21). She edged out co-silver medalists Hayley Nell of Western Ontario and Marie-Pier Ratelle of Laval (25.51).

 

Other individual winners on the men's side Friday evening were Guelph's Andrew Ford in the 100 back and Jason Block of the Calgary Dinos in the 200 breast.

 

In the 800 freestyle relay, Calgary's women's team of Morningstar, Murdoch, Peterson and Breanna Hendriks, defended their 2009 CIS crown, while the Varsity Blues men's quartet of Chetrat, Russell, Cummings and Curtis Samuel upset the top-seeded Dinos in a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

 

 

DAY 2 TEAM STANDINGS

 

WOMEN

 

1. Calgary, 443 points

2. UBC, 379

3. Montréal, 291

4. Western, 234.5

5. Toronto, 217

6. Laval, 148.5

7. Alberta, 131

8. Dalhousie, 95

9. Guelph, 88

10. Victoria, 62

11. McMaster, 50

12. Laurier, 41

13. Ottawa, 35

14. McGill, 31

15. Brock, 16

16. Regina, 14

16. UNB, 14

18. Laurentian, 11

19. Lethbridge, 9

20. Sherbrooke, 1

 

MEN

1. Calgary, 422.5

2. Toronto, 398

3. UBC, 267

4. Laval, 234.5

5. Dalhousie, 191

6. Alberta, 151

7. Western, 148

8. Victoria 90

9. Montréal, 88

10. Guelph, 86

11. Ottawa, 76

12. McGill, 56

13. McMaster, 50

14. Lethbridge, 16

14. Sherbrooke, 16

16. Manitoba, 12

17. York, 9

18. Waterloo, 2

 

DAY 2 INDIVIDUAL MEDALLISTS (Friday)

 

W 100m Back

1. Katy Murdoch, Calgary, 59.31
2. Andrea Jurenovskis, Toronto, 1:00.72
3. Chrystele Roy L'Ecuyer, Montreal, 1:01.13

 

M 100m Back

1. Andrew Ford, Guelph, 54.01

2. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 54.21

3. Cam Cummings, Toronto, 54.47

 

W 50m Fly

1. Chantique Payne, Guelph, 27.34

2. Sarah Taylor, McMaster, 27.47

3. Charlotte Dandurand, Laval, 27.65

 

M 50m Fly

1. Eric Cantin, Laval, 24.36

2. Mike Smerek, Toronto, 24.39

3. Mark Maizonnasse, Sherbrooke, 24.85

 

W 400m Free

1. Kevyn Peterson, Calgary, 4:08.71

2. Pamela Ruksys, Toronto, 4:12.92

3. Brittany Cooper, Western, 4:15.58

 

M 400m Free

1. Zack Chetrat, Toronto, 3:50.34

2. David Woodman, Calgary, 3:50.96

3. Steven Bielby, McGill, 3:51.00

 

W 200m Breast

1. Martha McCabe, UBC 2:21.91

2. Hanna Pierse, UBC, 2:26.26

3. Laura Thompson, UBC, 2:28.93

 

M 200m Breast

1. Jason Block, Calgary, 2:10.07

2. Bryn Jones, Western, 2:11.81

3. Marco Monaco, Toronto, 2:12.52

W 50m Free

1. Erica Morningstar,Calgary, 25.21

2. Hayley Nell, Western, 25.51

2. Marie-Pier Ratelle, Laval 25.51

 

 

M 50m Free

1. Colin Russell, Toronto, 21.73

2. Ryan Gow, Calgary, 22.24

3. Martyn Forde, Toronto, 22.35

 

W 200m Fly

1. Audrey Lacroix, Montreal, 2:09.37

2. Erin Miller, UBC, 2:11.50

3. Jessica Johnson, Calgary, 2:13.60

 

M 200m Fly

1. Zack Chetrat, Toronto, 1:56.70

2. David Sharpe, Dalhousie, 1:58.53

3. Jordan Hartney, UBC, 1:59.43

 

W 4 x 200m Free Relay

1. Calgary 8:00.21

(Erica Morningstar, Katy Murdoch, Kevyn Peterson, Breanna Hendriks)

2. Montreal 8:03.48

(Genevieve Samur, Chrystele Roy L'Ecuyer, Sarah-Lee Hevey, Audrey Lacroix)

3. Toronto 8:09.12

(Andrea Jurenovskis, Heather Maitland, Melanie Davis, Pamela Ruksys)

 

M 4 x 200m Free Relay

1. Toronto 7:14.20

(Zack Chetrat, Curtis Samuel, Colin Russell, Cam Cummings)

2. Calgary 7:16.77

(Brad Hankewich, Colin Miazga, David Woodman, Bogdan Knezevic)

3. UBC 7:19.70

(Duncan Furrer, Tommy Gossland, Rory Biskupski, Matt Godbeer)