By: Dwyane Tingley
Head coach Gary MacDonald has no doubt—the Acadia Axemen swim team is poised to make history.
The Axemen have set their sights on winning their first AUS men's swimming championship in 39 years.
The Dalhousie Tigers have won 22 consecutive men's titles and 18 straight women's conference championships.
"After three or four years of building, the squad was on fire at each of the first semester's competitions," said MacDonald, a former Olympian who is in his fifth season at the helm of Acadia's swim team.
The Axemen picked up wins in the men's division in each of the first three meets of the season at Dalhousie and UNB, and at their own Kemp-Fry Invitational, which saw Acadia capture the men's and overall titles on its way to setting 11 varsity records.
"This fall has been an exciting time for the team as the men's team has finally arrived as a powerhouse," MacDonald said.
"Overall, I am very pleased with both teams and we look forward to the new year," he continued. "The team has decided to stay at home (during the holiday break) and will be preparing to train harder than they ever have as we get ready for the second half of the season."
The coach said veterans Brett Liem and Benjamin Henger have led the men's team with some outstanding performances. Liem is ranked second in his specialty—the 50-metre freestyle.
Rookie Dean Sangster qualified in five U SPORTS swims—three individual and two relays. Gordon Shortt, also a freshman, has qualified in two events and relays. Reilly Baker narrowly missed cuts but qualified in relays, and coach MacDonald has high hopes for more improvement in the new year.
Team captain Kelsea Vessey and Jessica Pelletier have led the way on the women's team, which is chasing the Tigers for top spot.
"The first team is maybe one season away with some good recruiting to help close the gap against a very strong Dal team," MacDonald said.
The AUS swimming season resumes this weekend with the Acadia Invitational Meet in Wolfville, N.S. It will be followed by the Subway AUS Swimming Championships presented by Keep It Social, being hosted by Dalhousie Feb. 7-9 in Halifax.
The University of Victoria will host the U SPORTS national championships March 20-22.
In Fredericton, UNB Reds head coach Marta Belsh is pleased with her teams' "significant progress in training and performance.
"In the second half, we will continue with our adjusting and tweaking stroke mechanics to allow swimmers be more efficient in the water and have better control of their race tactics," Belsh said.
Leah Smal has qualified for nationals in the 50m freestyle while Maggie Gray, rookie Nikki Connors and Alexie Sanford have each made significant improvements in their events.
"It is great to see such a positive response from the athletes who have been given a new training approach," Belsh said.
The Memorial Sea-Hawks, with 13 rookies on their roster, do not have any U SPORTS qualifiers yet, but head coach Duffy Earle sees a lot of potential.
Natalie Smart is currently ranked second in the AUS in the 200m individual medley and third in the 200m backstroke. Thomas Chafe is third in the 400m freestyle while Polina Konstantinova is third in the 50m, 100m and 200m breaststroke. The coach believes some of them could earn U SPORTS qualifying times during the second half of the season.
Twelve members of the Sea-Hawks attended training sessions in Florida just before Christmas.
In Sackville, N.B., Noah Mascoll-Gomes won the 100m, 200m and 400m freestyle titles at the UNB and Acadia meets for the Mount Allison Mounties. He qualified for the U SPORTS championship in the 200m freestyle at the Dalhousie Invitational.
"We have a very young team and with 12 rookies, we are very much in a rebuilding year, hoping for personal best times and a good recruiting off-season," said Mounties head coach John Peters.