Gervais grabs bronze, Vikes show strongly in day two of Canada West championship

VICTORIA, BC – Second-year Vike Kaitlin Gervais grabbed the only medal of the day for the University of Victoria Vikes men and women's swimming teams alongside many positive performances from the Vikes in day two of the Canada West Swimming Championships in Vancouver, B.C.

[FULL RESULTS - DAY TWO]
 
A third-place time of 2:05.77 earned Gervais a bronze medal in the women's 200-metre freestyle, her second of the championships after earning her first as a member of the Vikes' bronze medal-winning side in day one's 800-metre freestyle relay. Fellow second-year Vike Taylor Snowden-Richardson finished behind Gervais in seventh with 2:08.49.
 
Despite only earning one spot on the podium, the Vikes swam many positive performances that finished just out of the medal category. Third-year Vike Evan Letkeman finished fourth in the men's 200-metre backstroke and qualified for the CIS Championships with a time of 2:00.75 – just 0.38 seconds off Regina's Noah Choboter in third at 2:00.37.
 
The men's 400-m freestyle relay team consisting of Letkeman, Brett Zollen, Garett Mallender and Ryan Howe grabbed another fourth-place finish for the Vikes at 3:26.95. On the women's side of the 400-metre freestyle relay, Gervais, Snowden-Richardson, Sarah Galbraith and Victoria Mock raced to a fifth-place time of 3:59.41.
 
"The Vikes swimmers raced another good hard day again, with honest efforts and varying amounts of success," said Vikes swimming assistant coach Ryan Clouston. "We'll be looking for more medals tomorrow and to turn some of these fourth-place finishes into medals."
 
At the start Saturday's final races, the fifth-year and graduating athletes from around the Canada West were recognized for their success. Two members from the Vikes who were honoured, Galbraith and fourth-year Richard Bourgeois, both broke Vikes records in the 50-metre breaststroke the day before in day one of Canada West competition.
 
Both the men and women's teams head into the final day of competition in fifth place of their respective standings. The Calgary Dinos overtook the UBC Thunderbirds for first in both the men and women's standings with 514.5 and 476 points, respectively. The Vikes trail Lethbridge by 2.5 points in the women's standings with 195 points while the men sit nine back of fourth-place Lethbridge at 181 points.
 
Around the rest of the championship, T-Bird Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson set the new women's 400-metre individual medley record with 4:36.29 in a clean sweep of the podium for UBC. In the men's 200-metre freestyle, UBC would've been given another clean sweep if Alberta's Hunter Balch and Marshal Parker hadn't tied with a time of 1:50.23.
 
The Final day of competition begins tomorrow, Nov. 29, with heats for events 25-36 at 9:00 a.m. PST. The championships conclude with finals 25-38 at 3:00 p.m. PST, and all races can be streamed live from the UBC Aquatic Centre at canadawest.tv.
 
Vikes Swimming Results – Day Two:

Women
400-m IM: 13^th – Lauren McMillan (5:07.34), 16^th – Jessie Ogden (5:13.91)
400-m Freestyle Relay: 5^th – Sarah Galbraith, Kaitlin Gervais, Taylor Snowden-Richardson, Victoria Mock (3:59.41)
200-m Freestyle: 3^rd, BRONZE – Kaitlin Gervais (2:05.77), 7^th – Taylor Snowden-Richardson (2:08.49),
9^th – Jessie Ogden (2:09.78), 11^th – Juliana Bartemucci (2:11.10), 14^th – Tabitha Craig (2:15.42)
200-m Backstroke: 13^th – Taylor Snowden-Richardson (2:25.86),
100-m Butterfly: 15^th – Victoria Mock (1:07.57)
100-m Breaststroke: 9^th – Sarah Galbraith (1:11.19), 10^th – Kara Wilson (1:14.15)

Men
400-m Freestyle Relay: 4^th – Evan Letkeman, Brett Zollen, Garett Mallender, Ryan Howe (3:26.95)
200-m Backstroke: 4^th – Evan Letkeman (2:00.75), 10^th – Ryan Howe (2:04.18)
200-m Freestyle: 11^th – Garrett Mallender(1:52.74), 13^th – Brett Zollen (1:55.08), 14^th – Ryan Howe (1:55.61)
50-m Freestyle: 8^th – Brett Zollen (23.63)
100-m Breaststroke: 6^th – Richard Bourgeois (1:03.77), 12^th – Aidan Thirkell (1:04.43)

Canada West Swimming Championship Standings – Day Two:
 
Women
1. Calgary, 514.5
2. UBC, 508
3. Alberta, 266
4. Lethbridge, 197.5
5. Victoria, 195
6. Manitoba, 150
7. Regina, 134
8. Thompson Rivers, 7
 
Men
1. Calgary, 476.5
2. UBC, 471
3. Alberta, 403.5
4. Lethbridge, 190
5. Victoria, 181
6. Regina, 115
7. Manitoba, 86
8. Thompson Rivers, 4

*Story pulled from vikes.uvic.ca