Axemen are champions, by snapping 21 year hold of title by Tigers

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - At the end of the third and final day of the 2020 Subway AUS Swimming Championships, presented by Keep It Social, the Dalhousie women's team won their 19th straight AUS championship title while the Acadia Axemen earned their first championship title in 38 years, snapping a winning streak by the men's Tigers of 21 seasons. 

Dalhousie's Reagan Crowell led a podium sweep of the women's 800m freestyle event to start the night. She posted a U SPORTS qualifying time of 8:50.06. Teammates Imani Theodore and Amelia Lane were second and third respectively. 

Noah Horwood earned UNB their first gold of the session, touching in with a U SPORTS qualifying time of 28.74 in the men's 50m breaststroke. Acadia's Andre Walcott was second, followed by Dalhousie's Evan Feick in third. 

Abbey Corish won gold in the women's 50m breaststroke, to earn Dalhousie their second gold of the evening. She was followed by Memorial's Polina Konstantinova and Acadia's Cali Bruce in second and third respectively. 

Acadia's Dean Sangster won the 200m backstroke in a U SPORTS qualifying time of 2:00.82. Dalhousie's Christian Payne was second, followed by fellow Axemen Benjamin Henger in third. 

UNB's Leah Smal was first to the wall in the women's 200m breaststroke. She clocked in with a U SPORTS qualifying time of 2:14.29. Dalhousie's Claire Yurkovich and Sarah Bond were second and third, respectively. 

Less than a tenth of a second separated the top three swimmers in the men's 100m freestyle final. Acadia's Brett Liem won the event with fellow Axeman Reilly Baker taking second place. Dalhousie's Tyler Immel-Herron was right on their heals with a third-place finish. 

Dalhousie's Isabel Sarty set a new AUS record in the women's 100m freestyle which she had broken during the heats earlier in the day. She posted a time of 55.19, bettering the time of 55.26 she set at the Kemp-Fry Invitational in November. Fellow Tiger Martine Nyhof was second, followed by Mary Beth Brown of Acadia in third. 

Acadia's Gordon Shortt won the 200m IM. Dalhousie's Evan Feick was second, followed by Axemen swimmer Grier Kershaw in third. 

Axewoman Cali Bruce out-touched Dalhousie's Madeline Shivgulam to win the women's 200m IM. Fellow Acadia swimmer Madison Morrison was third. 

Dalhousie's Quinn West won the final single event of the evening, earning a gold medal in the men's 1500m freestyle event. Memorial's Thomas Chafe was second, followed by Acadia's Joshua Nowlan. 

The Dalhousie team of Martine Nyhof, Abbey Corish, Lise Cinq-Mars and Isabel Sarty set a new AUS record to win the women's 4x100m medley relay. They posted a time of 4:11.46 to beat the time of 4:11.64 previously set by Dalhousie at the 2016 AUS championships. Acadia was second in the event, followed by UNB in third. 

Not to be outdone, the Acadia team of Dean Sangster, Andre Walcott, Shane Kenny and Brett Liem set a new AUS recorded in the men's 4x100m medley relay. They touched in with a time of 3:43.01, topping the time previously set by the Dalhousie Tigers at the 2016 AUS championships. Dalhousie was second, followed by Memorial. 

Acadia's Madison Murray and Dean Sangster were named the female and male rookies of the championship meet. 

Dalhousie's Isabel Sarty was the female swimmer of the meet, while Acadia's Brett Liem earned the men's title. 

At the end of the third and final day of competition, the team standings are as follows:  

Women's  
Dalhousie - 1043.50 
Acadia - 677 
University of New Brunswick - 482 
Memorial - 479 
Mount Allison - 261.50 

 Men's  
Acadia - 1034 
Dalhousie - 734 
Memorial - 439 
University of New Brunswick - 372 
Mount Allison - 150 

 Everyone who posted a U SPORTS qualifying time during the AUS season will be headed to the U SPORTS championships, hosted by the University of Victoria, February 20-22, 2020.