Tigers swim coach headed to Korea

Courtesy of Canadian Interuniversity Sport

OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport, in conjunction with Swimming Canada, announced Tuesday the 16 student-athletes who will represent Canada in swimming at the 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju, South Korea (July 3-14).

Gwangju 2015 website: www.gwangju2015.com
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer/2015/index

Highlighting the red and white roster is 2012 Olympian Barbara Jardin of Montreal, FISU Games veterans Geneviève Cantin of Saguenay, Que., and Caroline Lapierre-Lemire of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., as well as reigning CIS male swimmer of the year Eli Wall of Ottawa.

Rounding out the women’s team are Samantha Corea of Vancouver (University of Denver), Marie-Pier Couillard of Lévis, Que. (Laval University), Kylie Masse of LaSalle, Ont. (University of Toronto), Hannah Riordan of Cornwall, Ont. (Auburn University) and Jacomie Strydom of Edmonton (UBC).

Wall is accompanied on the men’s squad by Tristan Cote of Mississauga, Ont. (University of Calgary), Philippe Guertin of Saint-Hubert, Que. (UQAM), James Guest of Baie-D’Urfé, Que. (John Abbott College), Jon McKay of Victoria (University of Victoria), Jeffrey Swanston of Newmarket, Ont. (USC), Keegan Zanatta of Victoria (UBC), as well as Jeremie DeZwirek (UC Berkeley), a California native who holds dual citizenship.

Lance Cansdale from Dalhousie University has been appointed head coach for the Gwangju Games, after acting as team manager of the Canadian swimming delegation at the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan, Russia. Rounding out the support staff are team leader Bette El-Hawary, also a veteran of the Kazan Games, coaches Guillaume Mecteau and Tom Rushton, and massage therapist Brian Beckwith. 

The swimming competition in Gwangju is set for July 4 to 11.

“I am delighted that we have selected the team of 16 swimmers who achieved the qualification standards,” said Swimming Canada High Performance Director, John Atkinson. “We have a blend of experience and rising talent that will represent Canada strongly this summer.”

Jardin, a University of Montreal student, reached the semifinals and took 10th place overall in the 200-metre freestyle at the London Olympics, and also helped the Canadian 4x200 free relay to a fourth-place finish. In her first two university seasons with the U of M, she claimed 10 CIS championship medals, including five gold. 

Cantin from Laval University and Lapierre-Lemire from the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières (UQTR) are both multiple CIS champions who got their first taste of the Universiade in 2013. In Kazan, Lapierre-Lemire helped Canada claim FISU bronze in the 4x100 free relay, while Cantin placed fifth in the 200 backstroke final. 

Wall, a University of Toronto standout, earned male MVP honours at last month’s CIS championships after he swept the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.

Over the years, swimming has brought more Universiade glory to Canada than any other sport. Since the biennial competition began in 1959, Canadian swimmers have won 104 FISU medals, 22 of them gold – both record tallies for the country (see list of gold medallists below).    

In 2013, a delegation of 38 Canadian swimmers returned from Kazan with five podium finishes (1-1-3), including a gold-medal performance by Olympian Katerine Savard, who set a Universiade record time of 57.63 seconds in the 100 butterfly.

NOTES: One coach and up to four swimmers will be added to the Canadian team following the open water selections set for May 2 in Cozumel, Mexico... Canada had its best Universiade performance in swimming at the 1993 Games in Buffalo, USA, where the team captured 15 medals, six of them gold... The Canucks’ second best tallies came in 1991 (Sheffield, England) and 1983 (Edmonton) as they claimed three victories and 14 medals on both occasions.

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

WOMEN

Name  -  University  - Hometown - Eligibility *

Geneviève Cantin  Laval   Saguenay, Que.  4
Samantha Corea  Denver   Vancouver, B.C. 4
Marie-Pier Couillard  Laval   Lévis, Que.  3
Barbara Jardin   Montreal  Montreal, Que.  2
Caroline Lapierre-Lemire UQTR   Rouyn-Noranda, Que. 5
Kylie Masse   Toronto   LaSalle, Ont.  1
Hannah Riordan  Auburn   Cornwall, Ont.  -
Jacomie Strydom  UBC   Edmonton, Alta. 1

MEN
  
Tristan Cote   Calgary   Mississauga, Ont. 2
Jeremie DeZwirek  UC Berkeley  Mountain View, Calif. 4
Philippe Guertin  UQAM   Saint-Hubert, Que. -
James Guest   John Abbott College Baie-D’Urfé, Que. -
Jon McKay   Victoria  Victoria, B.C.  2
Jeffrey Swanston  Southern California Newmarket, Ont. 3
Eli Wall   Toronto   Ottawa, Ont.  2
Keegan Zanatta   UBC   Victoria, B.C.  3

Eligibility: Denotes year of CIS or NCAA eligibility in 2014-15... Hannah Riordan used her final year of NCAA eligibility at Auburn in 2012-13 and later enrolled in a Master’s program at McGill (but did not compete for McGill)... Philippe Guertin is a student at UQAM but does not compete for the Citadins varsity program... James Guest committed to the University of Georgia in the NCAA for 2015-16.

STAFF  

Team Leader: Bette El-Hawary, Halifax, N.S.
Head Coach: Lance Cansdale, Dalhousie, Halifax, N.S.
Coach: Guillaume Mecteau, UQAR, Trois-Rivières, Que.
Coach: Tom Rushton, Montreal, Que.
Massage Therapist: Brian Beckwith, Halifax, N.S.

CANADA’S SWIMMING GOLD MEDALS AT THE SUMMER UNIVERSIADE (22):

2013 (Kazan, Russia): Katerine Savard, women’s 100m butterfly
2009 (Belgrade, Serbia): Kevyn Peterson, women’s 400m freestyle
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): MacKenzie Downing, women’s 100m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Audrey Lacroix, women’s 200m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Darryl Rudolf, men’s 100m butterfly
2007 (Bangkok, Thailand): Brian Johns, men’s 200m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Guylaine Cloutier, women’s 100m breaststroke
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Marianne Limpert, women’s 200m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Nancy Sweetnam, women’s 400m individual medley
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Turlough O’Hare, men’s 400m freestyle
1993 (Buffalo, USA): Turlough O’Hare, men’s 800m freestyle
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Guylaine Cloutier, women’s 100m breaststroke
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Patricia Noall, women’s 400m freestyle
1991 (Sheffield, Great Britain): Deke Botsford, men’s 100m backstroke
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Mike West, men’s 100m backstroke
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Alex Baumann, men’s 200m individual medley
1983 (Edmonton, Canada): Alex Baumann, men’s 400m individual medley
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Marion Stuart, women’s 100m breaststroke
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Graham Smith, men’s 100m breaststroke
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Anne Gagnon, women’s 200m breaststroke
1977 (Sofia, Bulgaria): Graham Smith, men’s 200m breaststroke

About the Summer Universiade

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors who are at least 17 and less than 28 years of age as of January 1 in the year of the Games. Participants must be full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.

About Swimming Canada

Swimming Canada serves as the national governing body of competitive swimming. We inspire Canadians through world leading performances to embrace a lifestyle of swimming, sport, fitness and health. The federation comprises 75,000 members and 400 swim clubs across the country. Canadians are global leaders in high performance swimming and development for both able-bodied swimmers and swimmers with a disability.