UBC swimmers dominated the national university swimming championships recently, winning 18 gold medals and bringing UBC its 39th and 40th national championship titles, and second and third in this academic year.
Both the men's and women's teams won championship titles in the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU) competition in Quebec. This is the first time UBC's men and women have won simultaneous titles, and the first time in 33 years that the men's team has claimed top spot. This is the women's fourth national title in five years.
The men won 10 gold medals and the women eight. The teams also won 10 silver and six bronze.
Olympian Sarah Evanetz and 1997 World Aquatic Championships medallist Mark Versfeld, who each won five gold medals and one silver in individual and relay events, led the attack.
Evanetz set a meet record in the 100-metre butterfly and was part of a relay team that missed breaking a national record in the 4x100-metre freestyle by three-tenths of a second. The men's and women's relay teams won gold in every race with the exception of a silver medal performance in the women's 4x200-metre freestyle.
Medal winning swims also came from Katie Brambley, Glencora Maughan, Amanda Marin, Kelly Doody, Dustin Hersee, Greg Hamm, Jake Steele, Brent Sallee,Tim Peterson, and Shawn Van Hoof. Medal winning relay teams included swimmers listed above as well as Liz Edwards, Bambi Roy, Kevin Johns and Sveto Zvijerac.
Tom Johnson, coach of UBC's men's and women's teams, was selected as CIAU men's team Coach of the Year and tied for CIAU women's team Coach of the Year.
Final team standings saw UBC women with 488 points, ahead of Toronto with 417.5. UBC men finished with 660 points, ahead of Calgary with 437.