RECAP : Gee-Gees finish third overall at first meet of the season
Davide Casarin and Montana Champagne each earned a pair of first place finishes for the men’s team. Sara Godon was the top performer for the women, helping the Gee-Gees claim a pair of second places in the relays.
The University of Ottawa swimming team finished third overall at their first meet of the year, held at the University of Sherbrooke. Ottawa totalled 525 points, well ahead of fourth place Laval.
Davide Casarin and Montana Champagne each earned a pair of first place finishes for the men's team. Sara Godon was the top performer for the women, helping the Gee-Gees claim a pair of second places in the relays.
Champagne won the 200m individual medley in a time of 2:01.09 – reaching the U SPORTS standard. The 21-year-old from Ottawa also reached U SPORTS standard in the 200m butterfly. Champagne beat the field by nearly three seconds and was the only swimmer to qualify for the National Championships in that event.
Casarin, a second-year Gee-Gee hailing from Mirano, Italy, won the 400m freestyle in convincing fashion, besting the second-place swimmer by half a second. His time of 3:51.06 easily qualified him for the U SPORTS National Championships.
Casarin showed good versatility, also winning the 100m freestyle. The 23-year-old led wire-to-wire for his second win of the meet.
Champagne and Casarin both took home their third podium finish of the evening in the 4x200m freestyle. The Ottawa foursome finished second, with James Cormier and Kristi Grillo joining Champagne and Casarin.
The women's 4x50m relay team finished second to the powerful Université de Montréal squad, which also won the meet overall. Ottawa's relay team consisted entirely of 18-year-olds – Godon, Mayheve Rondeau, Madison Halvorsen and Katherine Peel.
The women's 4x200m relay also finished second to the Carabins. Godon picked up her second silver of the competition with help from teammates Delphine Vandal, Alina Juuti and Adelle Yamashita-Ball.
Other Gee-Gees to earn top three finishes were Lauren Shearer (third, 200m breaststroke) William Barrett (third, 200m breaststroke) and Delphine Vandal (third, 400m freestyle).
The Gee-Gees will be back in the pool this week for a tri-meet at Montpetit Hall on Thursday night. The next RSEQ University Cup meet is Saturday, October 27 at McGill University. Ottawa hosts the RSEQ's third meet of the year on Saturday, November 10 at the Aquatic Centre.