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March 31, 2001

McGill Swimming Awards Banquet honors its top athletes

Lots of hardware was handed out by head coach Francois Laurin at the eighth annual Friends of McGill swim awards banquet, held at Coasters Bar on Park Avenue, March 31. The most valuable player award, voted upon by their teammates, was handed out to Martlets team captain Elaine Duranceau, a freestyle specialist from Ile-Bizard, Que. On the men's side, the vote resulted in a tie between the team's top sprinters -- junior David Allard of Dorval, Que., and junior Alexandre Pichette of Montreal. Duranceau won one gold medal and three silvers at the Quebec university championships and was a finalist in the 200m butterfly at the CIAUs. Allard earned five golds and one silver at the Quebec championships in addition to a pair of relay bronzes at the CIAUs. Pichette captured five golds and one silver at the Quebec championships and won four bronze medals at the CIAUs. The Performance of the Year awards, based on the world decathlon points formula, was presented to Canadian Olympian Karine Legault of St-Eustache, Que., and freshman Sylvain Lemieux of Boucherville, Que., for their impressive results at the CIAU championships. Legault earned 919 points, setting a McGill record in the 400m freestyle with a time of four minutes, 16.38 seconds. Lemieux racked up 929 points, establishing McGill, Quebec conference and provincial records for the 400m individual medley in 4:19.56. The Marie-Claude Saumure Memorial Trophy for combined academic and athletic excellence, was presented to senior Erik Shessler of North Andover, Mass. A four-time CIAU Royal Bank Academic All-Canadian and member of the Principal's student-athlete honour roll, he won bronze at the CIAU championships in the 4x200m freestyle relay. He also achieved a personal best in the 200m backstroke and the 200m individual medley. He is graduating with a bachelor of science this spring and has just been accepted into McGill medical school. The Most Improved Swimmer awards were presented to a pair of 19-year-old freshmen -- Taylor White of Port Elgin, Ont., and Andrew Topham, a native of Pointe Claire, Que. White shaved 17.05 seconds off her 200m breaststroke with a new personal best time of 3:03.95. She also shaved 6.41 seconds off her 100m breaststroke (1:23.77) and took 4.4 seconds off her 50m breaststroke, swimming the event in 37.60 at the QSSF championships. Topham also achieved similar personal bests in the same three events, reducing his 200m breast by 13.71 seconds (2:29.74), his 100m breast by 3.83 seconds (1:09.37) and his 50m breast by 0.27 seconds (32.23). He was a finalist in two events at the QSSF championships. Rookie-of-the-Year honours went to Jessica Warren of Oakville, Ont., and Doug McCarthy of Orleans, Ont. Warren won two golds and a bronze at the QSSF championships and qualified for the CIAU championships, where she was a finalist in the 100m free and was a consolation finalist in the 200m, 400m and 800m freestyles. Over the season, she twice helped the 4x50m freestyle relay team set a McGill record -- at the Maine Black Bear Invitational and at the QSSF championships (1:49.87). McCarthy earned three bronze medals at the QSSF championships (50m back, 100m back, 200m back). He qualified for the CIAU championships where he was a finalist in the 50m backstroke and made the consolation finals in both the 100m and 200m backstrokes. Warren also won the Dimock-Meloche Trophy as the team's most spirited member along with Nick Bakish, a sophomore from Ottawa who was a finalist at the QSSF championships in both the 50 and 100m breaststrokes, just missing the CIAU qualifying standard in both events by fractions of a second. To cap off the evening, the team's seven graduating seniors each received a monogrammed McGill pen. They included the aforementioned Duranceau and Shessler, in addition to Jennifer Lorentz of Orlando, Florida, Stella Drury and Shane Utter, both from Pointe Claire, plus a pair of twins, Keith and Nathan Sutherland from Oakville, Ont.
Article written by: Earl Zuckerman, McGill Communications

February 26, 2001

A strong unit brings national prominence to McGill Swimming

After an undefeated season, the McGill swim team combined for a stellar performance at the 2001 CIAU Championships. The men's team finished fourth, behind UBC, Calgary, and Toronto, while the women finished eighth. Both teams were led by the several school record setting performances throughout the meet. Team rookies Karine Legault and Sylvain Lemieux combined for five individual school records, along with Alex Pichette, who added two more. Legualt set standards in the 400m (4:16.38) and 800m (8:48.57) freestyles, finishing fifth and fourth in those events, respectively. Lemiuex earned a silver medal for his 200m IM record performance (2:02.39), and bronze medals in the 200m butterfly (2:03.70) and 400m IM (4:19.56), both of which were school records. Pichette added to the medal and record counts as he added bronze medal performances in the 50m and 100m back, setting school marks of 25.42 and 54.88. He was also able to capture a bronze in the 50m freestyle in 23.35 and a ninth place finish in the 200m backstroke (2:02.62). Pichette rallied back from an eighth place 50m free qualifying time, swimming the championships unshaved and unrested. Legault also finished tenth in the 200m free (2:04.67), just ahead of Jessica Warren, who was thirteenth in 2:06.76. Lemieux touched just ahead of teammate Matthew Walker in the 400m free, as they finished twelfth and thirteenth (4:00.03/3:59.86p and 4:00.66). Warren and Walker added points in other freestyle events, with Warren's fourteenth place finish in the 400m free (4:29.04), twelfth place finish in the 800m free (9:20.99), and sixteenth place finish in the 100m free (59.97p), and Walker's thirteenth place 200m free finish (1:53.40/1:53.22p), and fourteenth place finish in the 1500m free (16:11.13). Doug McCarthy and Erik Shessler were strong for McGill in the dorsal events. McCarthy finishing sixth in the 50m back (26.83), tenth in the 100m back (58.55/ 58.21p), and sixteenth in the 200m back(2:08.80/ 2:06.74p). Shessler was eleventh in the 200m back in a lifetime best of 2:06.28. Carolyn McCabe added points in the freestyle and butterfly sprints with an eighth place finish in the 50 fly (29.60), a twelfth place finish in the 50 free (27.45/27.40p), and fourteenth place finish in the 100m free (59.04), and a fifteenth place finish in the 100m fly (1:06.29/ 1:06.17p). Kerry Cregan took matching fourteenth place honors in the 100m and 200m breaststroke, touching in 1:17.05 (1:16.31p) and 2:44.03 (2:41.37p). Women's captain Elaine Duranceau had a strong finish to her McGill career , as she went under the previous McGill record in the 400m free (4:20.63) to finish tenth. She also touched eleventh in the 400m IM (4:58.99), ninth in the 200m IM (2:21.47), and eighth in the 200m fly (2:21.90/ 2:20.73p). The relentless David Allard finaled in all of his events, the only McGill swimmer to accomplish this at the meet. Allard posted an eighth place finish in the 50m breaststroke (29.64), a sixth place finish in the 100m breaststroke (1:03.61), a fifth place finish in the 200m breaststroke (2:18.27), and a fourth place finish in the 200m IM (2:04.29). In relay action, the women finished ninth in the 4 x 100m free relay (4:00.22 Warren, Marie-Claude Charron, Beth Carmody, McCabe), sixth in the 4 x 200m free relay (8:39.91 Warren, Legault, Carmody, Duranceau), and twelfth in the 4 x 100m medley relay (4:31.10 Carmody, Cregan, Duranceau, McCabe). The men took fifth in the 4 x 100m free relay (3:29.38 Walker, Pichette, McCarthy, Keith Sutherland), and took home bronze medals in the 4 x200m free and 4 x 100m medley relays. The 4 x 200m free team of Allard, Walker, Lemiuex, and Shessler touched in 7:35.78, and the medley relay team of Pichette, Allard, Lemiuex, and Walker touched in 3:45.00, 2.71 seconds ahead of the previous McGill record. Also of note, Lemiuex's records in the 200m and 400m IM and Legault's record in the 800m free are provincial records as well.

February 12, 2001

McGill Swimmers bring home the conference championship

Six months of hard work paid off for the Redmen and Martlets this past weekend, as both teams won the their provincial championship, along with culminating for the combined championship. Coach Francios Laurin, who was voted Quebec Coach of the Year for the third straight year, was very pleased with the victories, with the men taking first with 359 points to second place Laval's 238, and the women winning with a score of 296 to second place finisher Laval's 274. The women's team, who came into the meet with a very slight lead over University of Laval, teamed for an impressive weekend. Jessica Warren was a surprise winner in the 200m freestyle (2:08.26). She also finished third in the 400m freestyle (4:30.75), 5th in the 400m IM (5:17.74), and contributed on McGill's 2 x 200m freestyle and 4 x 50m freestyle relays. Warren was behind McGill Olympian Karine Legault in the 400m free (4:16.87). Legault's second place effort was a McGill record by almost five seconds. She was also part of McGill's second place 4 x 200m freestyle relay. Elaine Duranceau had a superb showing at the meet, earning second place finishes in the 200m IM (2:22.96), 400m IM (5:03.96), and 200m butterfly (2:21.29). The women's 4 x 50m freestyle relay team of Warren, Duranceau, Carolyn McCabe, and Beth Carmody set a new school record of 1:49.87 in winning the event. The men's team also made an assault on the school record board as Alex Pichette set a record in the 100m backstroke with a winning time of 54.92, and Sylvain Lemiuex broke McGill Olympian Sebastian Paddington's 200m butterfly record with a 2:04.14. Pichette was also victorious in the 50m free (23.55), 50m backstroke (26.00), and 200m backstroke (2:04.84). He was also part of McGill's winning 4 x 100m medley relay. Also on that relay were Dave Allard, who was a meet all-star with wins in the 50m (30.49), 100m (1:04.96), and 200m breastroke (2:22.48), and 200m IM (2:06.01), Keith Sutherland, and Matthew Walker, who had a third place finish in the 1500m freestyle, 400m freestyle (4:07.80, behind Lemiuex (4:02.42), and the 200m freestyle (1:56.00). McGill's success was not based on it's superstars alone. The team's depth paved the way as all 38 swimmers on the teamed scored in either relay or individual events. McGill will send 13 swimmers to teh CIAU championship in Guelph at the end of February to fight for a place among the nation's best.

January 21, 2001

McGill Swimming continues its dominance over the FQSE

McGill's men's team lengthened its lead over Laval and the remainder of Quebec teams this past Saturday, as the women's team had to settle for second place, coming up short in a hard fought battle with Laval and University of Montreal. Both men's and women's 4 x 100m medley relays were superlative as the team of Beth Carmody, Kerry Cregan, Elaine Duranceau, and Carolyn McCabe combined for the Marlets, and Alex Pichette, David Allard, newcomer Sylvain Lemieux, and Matthew Walker brought home the victory for the Redmen. Duranceau placed second in the 800m free, and also led a 1-2-3 Martlet sweep in the 400m IM, followed by Cregan in 2nd and Jessica Wareen in 3rd. Cregan took top honors in the 50m and 100m breaststroke. David Allard had another successful showing at a conference meet, winning both the 50m and 100m breaststoke, along with a very close second place finish in the 200m backstroke. Alex Pichette touched out last year's 50m freestyle champion, Laval's Jean-Francois Langlais, in the sprint event, touching in 23.46. Known as one of the country's top backstrokers, Pichette's time in the freestyle event would have won the conference championship last February. Matthew Walker came a close second in the 200m freestyle and finished in second place in the 1500m freestyle, seconds ahead of Sylvain Lemieux, who also finished 2nd in the 400IM by tenths of a second and third in the 100m butterfly. In the final event, the 4 x 100m freestyle relay, the team of Kristina Hassell, Carolyn McCabe, Andrea Speltz, and Jessica Warren took third place, while the men claimed second, third, and fourth places, led by the team of Shane Utter, Alex Pichette, Paolo Mangalindan, and Matthew Walker. McGill will now spend its next three weeks preparing for the third portion of its conference championship in hopes of capturing both the men's and women's titles along with the combined title.

January 19, 2001

McGill Swimmers return from a training camp in the Caribbean

Refocused and in great shape, the McGill swim team is ready to face the final challenges of the 2000-2001 season after a 16 day training trip to Barbados. With a hotel in the St. Lawrence Gap, Barbados, just ten minutes from the only 50 meter pool in the country, McGill swimmers spent their winter break priming themselves for an assault on the province and the country. Currently ranked thrid in the country, McGill will compete in the Conference Cup II this weekend in Sherbrooke with hopes of extending its lead over Laval and other Quebec opposition. The addition of Quebec star Sylvain Lemieux and Olympian Karine Legault will help the team as Matthew Walker, David Allard, Alex Pichette, and Elaine Duranceau continue to lead the very deep supporting team towards success.

December 5, 2000

McGill Swimmers Wrap Up 1st Semester With Style

After dominating the Can-Am Challenge in Sherbrooke and walking away with men's and women's titles at the Conference Cup 1 in Montreal, McGill Swimming blasted the competition out of the water at the University of Maine's Black Bear Invitational. Winning almost every event, both men and women, as well as placing between three and six swimmers in the top eight of every individual event, McGill was able to garner top team honors, supported in large by female swimmer of the meet, captain Elaine Duranceau, and male swimmer of the meet, teammate Alex Pichette. Pichette and David Allard had a hand in four pool records, with Pichette grabbing the 100 and 200 yard backstroke, and Allard picking off the 100 and 200 yard breastsroke. Allard went undefeated in his events, also winning the 50 meter breastroke and 200 meter IM. Pichette won the 400 yard IM and was second in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly. The women's 4 x 50 free relay set a McGill record on the first night of competition, and were led by an undefeated campaign by Duranceau.

September 30, 2000

Red and White Teams Square Off at Intersquad Season Opener

This year's Red & White intersquad meet was decided by the final event, the men's 4 x 100 free relay, as the red team pulled from behind to capture the win. In what seemed to be a victory for the white team after three-fourths of the race, red team anchor David Allard reeled in the opposition, touching out Doug McCarthy with a 53.00 split. The Red team was also victorious in the women's 4 x 100 free relay, as well as both men and women's 4 x 50 medley relays. Multiple event winners at the meet included David Allard (200 breastsroke, 400 freestyle, 200 IM), Matt Walker (200 freestyle, 100 freestyle), Alex Pichette (100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle), and Elaine Duranceau (400 freestyle, 200 backstroke).