Axemen dominating AUS Swimming Championship, Axewomen placing strong second

WOLFVILLE, N.S. Dalhousie swimmers found themselves atop of the podium in seven of the 14 events at the end of day two of the 2020 Subway AUS Swimming Championships presented by Keep it Social. However, Acadia won five events and look to break Dalhousie's 21 year grip of the Men's Championship, while UNB and Mount Allison each won one event. 

The Axemen will look to add to their dominant lead tomorrow in the last session and possibly be crowned AUS champs for the first time since the 1980-81 season. Two individuals claimed U SPORTS qualifying times today including Arielle Mersiadis-Carrier and Shane Kenny.

UNB's Leah Smal won the first event of the second day of finals. She swam to victory in the 100m backstroke. Dalhousie's Martine Nyhof and Acadia's Jessica Pelletier placed second and third respectively. All three swimmers posted U SPORTS qualifying times in the event as did Dal's Sarah Bon who was fourth. 

Dalhousie's Christian Payne was first to the wall in the men's 100m backstroke. He was followed closely by Acadia's Dean Sangster and fellow Tiger Tyler Immel-Herron. All three posted U SPORTS qualifying times. 

Tigers swimmer Lise Cinq-Mars swam to victory in the women's 50m butterfly. Fellow Tiger Veronica Hollick was second, followed by Acadia's Cali Bruce. Cinq-Mars and Hollick posted U SPORTS qualifying times. 

Acadia claimed the top two spots in the men's 50m butterfly with Kenny Shane earning the top spot with a U SPORTS qualifying time of 24.85. Brett Liem was second followed by UNB's Erik Staeben. 

Isabel Sarty led a Tigers podium sweep in the 400m freestyle. She took top spot in the event, followed by Reagan Crowell and Imani Theodore. Sarty and Crowell posted u SPORTS qualifying times in the event. 

Noah Mascoll-Gomes won Mount Allison's first gold medal of the championship, swimming to victory in the men's 400m freestyle. Memorial's Thomas Chafe was second, followed by Dalhousie Tiger Quinn West in third. 

Acadia's Madison Murray won the 200m breaststroke. Dalhousie's Victoria MacDonald touched in at second, followed by Memorial's Polina Konstantinova in third. 

Dalhousie's Evan Feick took gold in the 200m breaststroke with Acadia's Andrew Walcott and Gordon Shortt placing second and third respectively. 

Isabel Sarty won her second gold of the night, taking the top spot in the women's 50m freestyle. UNB's Leah Smal was second, followed by Dalhousie's Martin Nyhof. All three posted U SPORTS qualifying times as did Arielle Mersiadis-Carrier from Acadia who was fourth. 

Acadia's Brett Liem led an Acadia-sweep of the men's 50m freestyle. He posted a U SPORTS qualifying time of 22:85 to take top spot. Reilly Baker and Dean Sangster were closed behind in second and third. 

Kelsea Vessey (Acadia) won gold in the women's 200m butterfly. She was followed by UNB's Hannah Casey and Memorial's Heidi Perry. Vessey posted a U SPORTS qualifying time in the event. 

Dalhousie's Jacob Branchflower out-touched UNB's Erik Staeben to win the men's 200m butterfly. Acadia's Lucas Perkins was third. 

The Dalhousie team of Martine Nyhof, Isabel Sarty, Reagan Crowell and Lise Cinq-Mars won the 4x200m freestyle relay. UNB and Acadia placed second and third respectively. 

The Acadia team of Reilly Baker, Guy Harrison-Murray, Gordon Shortt and Brett Liem swam to victory in the men's 4x200m relay. Dalhousie was second in the event, followed by Memorial.  

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

Women's  
Dalhousie - 730.5 
Acadia - 444 
University of New Brunswick - 340 
Memorial - 330 
Mount Allison - 177.50  

Men's  
Acadia - 716 
Dalhousie - 488 
Memorial - 315 
University of New Brunswick - 258 
Mount Allison - 121 

The action will get back underway tomorrow with heats starting at 10:00am, while the finals start at 6:00pm. You can catch all the action live online at www.AUStv.ca