by Cody Baugh

It was another dominant year for head coach Lance Cansdale men’s swimming team, grabbing their 18th straight AUS championship. Leading the charge was Gavin Dyke and Kyle Watson who both had remarkable individual seasons.

Third-year Gavin Dyke was named the AUS male swimmer of the year after a season that was nothing short of dominant. Dyke took home gold in all four of his individual events at the AUS championship and also had a strong performance at nationals scoring in four events (two A finals and two B finals). Throughout the course of the season, Dyke set five AUS records.

Kyle Watson capped off his AUS career with a standout season as well. Coach Cansdale described him as “one of the most decorated distance swimmers to swim in the AUS.” Watson was unstoppable in the mile and the 400m freestyle events, capturing an AUS title in both swims. At the CIS championships, Watson managed to qualify for the A final in both the 400m and the 1500m freestyle events.

While there was no shortage of success in the Tigers season, it was a relatively young squad with half the team being in their first year of eligibility. Morrgan Payne was the standout rookie swimmer on the men’s side, scoring at the CIS championships and was named both the AUS male rookie of the year and the rookie swimmer of the championship meet.

As a team, the Tigers went undefeated in all of their AUS events and finished sixth at the CIS championships. At the AUS championships, the Tigers claimed victory in 15 individual races and won all three relays to take the title. It was an unbelievable effort from the inexperienced Tigers team. “We definitely punched above our weight class,” says Lance Cansdale. Cansdale was named the AUS coach of the year for leading the Tigers to great heights this season. Veteran leader Jeremy Ryant was named both the AUS and CIS Community Service Award winner.

The Tigers will lose some key pieces to graduation this season with captain, Kyle Watson departing. Dalhousie will also miss the likes of Jeremy Ryant and James Profit who both had a tremendous impacts on the team.