Swim Tigers extend lead at AUS championships

The second day of the 2023 AUS Championships saw Dalhousie University build on their lead in the both the women's and men's rankings, as the Tigers look to repeat as Atlantic University Sport champions.  

In the first final of the night, Reagan Crowell of Dalhousie University took the women's 200m freestyle event with a time of 2:03.64. Crowell was followed by Jennifer Moore of UNB and Sophie Idle, also representing Dalhousie.  

In the men's final, Noah Mascoll-Gomes of the Dalhousie Tigers took home the gold while also meeting the U SPORTS qualifying standards with a time of 1:50.13. Taking the silver was Thomas Chafe of the hometown Memorial Sea-Hawks, followed by Bo Stokesbury-Price of Acadia University. 

The women's 50m backstroke final was a tight race between Acadia teammates Sophie Rooney and Kassidy Hamilton, with Rooney coming out on top in a time of 29.50. Ali Warren of Memorial University rounded off the podium with a bronze finish.  

On the men's side of the 50m backstroke Liam Ferguson of Dalhousie University captured the gold with a time of 25.46, followed by Acadia swimmers Dean Sangster and Aaron Day. Both Ferguson and Sangster achieved U SPORTS qualifying times.  

In a very close women's 100m breaststroke final, Ella Collins of Acadia University claimed top spot with a time of 1:12.48. Collins was followed by Jordan Thomas of Mount Allison University and Elizabeth Morrison of Acadia.  

The men's 100m breaststroke final saw Gordon Shortt add to Acadia's Gold medal total with a winning time of 1:03.20. University of New Brunswick pair Blake Kingston and Ethan Nestoruk rounded out the podium, taking silver and bronze respectfully.  

The women's 400m Individual Medley finals were all Dalhousie University, as the Tigers swept the top four spots. Taking the gold was Allison McCloy, followed by Kate Tuck and Emilie Schofield. McCloy's time of 4:48.09 beat the U SPORTS qualifying standard by an impressive 12.37 seconds.  

In the men's 400m IM final, hometown favourite Matty Whelan captured gold for the Memorial Sea-Hawks with a time of 4:32.87. A close battle for second saw Logan Sparkes edge his Dalhousie teammate Alexander D'Alessio by 0.13 seconds, finishing in a time of 4:38.30.  

Veronica Hollick claimed gold in an exciting women's 50m butterfly finals. The Dalhousie Tiger finished in a time of 27.75, meeting U SPORTS qualifying standards. Taking home the silver and bronze were Kassidy Hamilton of Acadia University and Heidi Perry of Memorial University, respectfully.  

On the men's side of the 50m butterfly finals, Shane Kenny of the Acadia Axemen captured the gold in a U SPORTS qualifying time of 24.32. Kenny was followed by Dalhousie's Liam Ferguson with a time of 25:10 and Acadia's Marcus Vaillancourt close behind, finishing with a time of 25.40.  

The women's 4x200m freestyle relay was a very tightly contested race, however, in the end it was Dalhousie University's team of Allison McCloy, Abbey Nichols, Sophie Idle, and Reagan Crowell claiming the gold in a time of 8:30.04. Acadia University's Kali Lancaster, Kassidy Hamilton, Grace Earle, and Sophie Rooney captured silver in a time of 8:40.40, edging out Memorial's team of Megan Holden, Natalie Smart, Heidi Perry, and Kate Williams by 4.59 seconds.  

A back and forth men's 4x200m freestyle relay saw Acadia University's team of Gordon Shortt, Adam Deutsch, Bo Stokesbury-Price, and Dean Sangster grow a lead in the second leg that they would not relinquish, capturing gold with a time of 7:31.84. Dalhousie University's team of Logan Sparkes, Ethan Boyle, Noah Mascoll-Gomes, and Liam Ferguson came from behind to claim silver in a time of 7:39.31. Rounding out the podium, Memorial's Mostafa Zein, Logan Palmer, Matty Whelan, and Thomas Chafe took home the bronze with a time of 8:06.26.  

At the end of the second day of competition, the team standings are as follows:   

Women's 

Dalhousie – 624.5
Acadia – 487.5
Memorial – 434 
UNB – 305 
Mount Allison – 182   

Men's 

Dalhousie – 660.5
Acadia – 612.5 
Memorial – 340 
UNB – 247 
Mount Allison – 124    

The final day of action is happening tomorrow, with preliminaries at 10:00am and finals starting at 6 p.m. All events will be livestreamed and can be viewed on AUStv.