U SPORTS PREVIEW: 31 Gee-Gees swimmers set for national stage in Victoria
Looking to build upon an outstanding 32-medal performance at the RSEQ Championship, the Gee-Gees swim team is set to travel to Victoria, BC for the 2023 U SPORTS Swimming Championship from Feb. 23-25.
Live results will be available online here, broadcast in English will be available on CBC Sports digital platforms including the CBC Gem app and CBCSports.ca, meanwhile French webcasts will be available on USPORTS.ca.
The championship has the chance to be a landmark one for the Gee-Gees swimming in their 50th anniversary season. The 31 swimmers (18 men, 13 women) attending the championship represents the largest cntingent vying for national medals in the team's history.
A trip to Victoria should spur good memories for Gee-Gees, as they recorded their best-ever team finishes and total medal counts at the 2020 U SPORTS Championship, also hosted in British Columbia's capital.
In 2022's National Championship at hosted in Quebec City, the Gee-Gees earned two medals, while the men's team finished 5th overall to tie their best-ever finish, while the women's team finished eighth overall.
Previous national medalists Alexandre Perreault, Hugo Lemesle, Lauren Shearer, Nathan Schiffmann, Louis Bertrand, and Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc will all be in the pool for the Gee-Gees in Victoria, alongside 21 other Ottawa swimmers with U SPORTS Championship experience.
At the RSEQ Championship, the Gee-Gees set a team record for most gold medals in individual events (9) and tied the team record for most gold medals total (10).
On the women's side, Lauren Shearer will be vying for another national medal after winning bronze in the 100 breast in 2020. Also looking to parlay their RSEQ success to big results in Victoria are Isabelle Melanson, Shaunna Walker-de Jong, and the 200, 400, and 800 metre freestyle relay teams that took home medals at the conference level.
For the men, Lemesle and Perreault once again look to be medal threats for the second consecutive season, while RSEQ gold medal winners Allen Zheng, Ryan Jensen, Brendan Van Herk, and Colin Shearer look to add to their strong seasons in Victoria. The men's relays will also be key watches particularly after the Gee-Gees came away with seven RSEQ medals, including a gold in the 200m medley.
Action at Saanich Commonwealth Place will get underway on Thursday, a complete meet schedule can be found HERE.
Follow @GeeGeesSwim on Instagram and Twitter for daily coverage from Victoria.
Ottawa Gee-Gees Roster for 2023 U SPORTS Championship:
Women's Team: Kate Hulford, Rachel McInnes, Abigail McKinley, Amy Meharg, Isabelle Melanson, Kate Nielson, Lauren Shearer, Morgane Shuster, McKenna Spurrell, Vanessa Thebarge, Katherine Vithoulkas, Shaunna Walker-de Jong, Kayla Whitehead.
Men's Team: Evan Aguiar-Winter, Nathan Beaudin-Bolduc, Louis Bertrand, Jamie Demers, Ethan Fast, Hashim Haba, Jack Haycock, Ryan Jensen, Hugo Lemesle, Judson Nickerson, Alexandre Perreault, Nathan Schiffmann, Colin Shearer, James Steele, Alex Strople, Brendan Van Herk, Noah Wagner, Allen Zheng.