by Duncan Forbes
The Tigers swimming teams started the season with high expectations. Both the men’s and women’s teams were ranked third in the country early on after solid showings at last year’s CIS championship. They looked poised to add to the rich history of strong Tigers swimming teams, which have absolutely dominated AUS competition in the past decade and beyond.
They kicked things off in Wolfville, NS in the Jack Scholz AUS Invitational. The women’s team finished with over 100 points over the next closest team and were led by a strong performance by Keishia Mills, who swam to a first-place finish in the 50m and 200m breaststroke and a second-place finish in the 400 IM events. The men’s team also came away with their first victory of the season, led by first-year swimmers Sean Berrigan and Keenan Teghtsoonian who combined for four first-place finishes.
They then rolled into Fredericton to compete in the Amby Leger Invitational. After two days of competition, both Tigers teams found themselves on top of the podium by a margin of over 100 points. Mills again led the Tigers with three first-place finishes, while Tony Liew paced the men’s team with four first-place finishes.
The team then competed in the AUS Invitational swim meet at home at the Dalplex. Both teams remained undefeated as they walked away victorious for the third straight meet. The meet was highlighted by Liew’s record-breaking 50m breaststroke that saw him break a 14 year-old AUS record by 0.16 seconds. The Tigers also improved their number of CIS-qualifying times to 18.
With another exceptional start to the season, the Tigers will aim to continue their reign of dominance over the AUS in the second half of the season. The true test will come when they head to the CIS championship at the University of Victoria in February. After both teams started the season ranked third in the country, the men’s team has slipped slightly to fifth while the women’s team now sit in tenth.
They’ll get back in the pool when they head to Wolfville for the annual Acadia Invitational on January 9-10 before hosting the AUS championships in early February.