Gee-Gees swim team off to a strong start in 2024, men’s and women’s teams national ranked
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees swim team has started the season on a positive note. Both the men's and women's teams are nationally ranked, showcasing their top-level talent at three RSEQ Cup meets, and four other competitions. The women's team rank 6th while the men rank 9th.
Ottawa earned a second-place finish at their first competition. The men's and women's teams totalled 710 points for a great start to the season. Each earning a gold and two silver medal finishes, Alym Kurji and Hugo Lemelse led the way for the Gee-Gees in Montreal.
On the women's side, Raphaelle Lavoie also took home one gold and two silver medal finishes. Isabelle Melanson earned a pair of silver medals and a bronze, while Vanessa Thebarge earned a pair of silver medals.
Joined by Grace Lu, Lavoie, Melanson, and Thebarge swam a time of 1:56.64 to place second in the 4x50m relay. The Gee-Gees also claimed second in the men's 4x50m relay with the team of Kurji, Lemesle, Timur Devyatykh and Christophe Lanouette.
Jakob Mbobela, Baris Kartoglu, Colin Shearer, Alex Strople, Noah Taylor, Sydney Colquhoun, Rachel McInnes, Taylor Elliot, Isabel Langridge, Rachel Smith and Selin Turan also earned podium finished at RSEQ Cup 1.
The Gee-Gees hosted the Carleton Ravens and Waterloo Warriors for a mid-October tri-meet. Ottawa totalled 44 medals to win the meet.
At RSEQ Cup 2 in Sherbrooke, Ottawa earned another second-place finish. Melanson led the way for the Gee-Gees, bringing home three gold medals and ranking second amongst women. With two gold medals and one silver, Lavoie ranked third.
Ottawa's women's 4x100m relay team earned a first-place finish with a time of 4:15.16.
Lemesle was the top ranked swimmer for the men, earning two gold and one silver medal finish.
Lanouette, Devyatykh, Kartoglu, Mbobela, Shearer, Taylor, Lu, Elliott, McInnes, Josephine Strepple, Amy Meharg, Langridge, and Colquhoun also earned podium finishes at RSEQ Cup 2.
The Gee-Gees finished November at the Coupe du Québec senior 2024. The team earned a fifth-place finish,
RSEQ Cup 3 came to Montpetit Hall as the Gee-Gees hosted the competition. Kurji had a day, reeling in four gold medals. Individually, Kurji swam a time of 24.23 in the 50m butterfly and 50.37 in the 100m freestyle while contributing to first place finishes in relays.
Meharg swam a time of 4:20.12 in the 400m freestyle to earn gold. Lavoie finished with a time of 57.90 in the 100m freestyle, good for a gold medal.
Kartoglu, Lanouette, Lemesle, Mbobela, Shearer, Taylor, Strople, James Clarke, Sam Greenshields, Melanson, Lu, McInnes, Langridge, Thebarge, Turan, and Katherine Vithoulkas also earned podium finishes at RSEQ Cup 3.
The team kicks off the second half of the season on January 16 as they host Carleton and Queen's for a tri-meet. RSEQ Cup 4 follows two weeks later, then the team will head to Montreal for the RSEQ Championship. Qualified swimmers will head to Toronto from March 6-8 for the U SPORTS National Championship tournament.