2012 Olympic hopefuls Zack Chetrat and Paige Schultz highlight six members of the Varsity Blues swimming team that have been selected to represent Canada at the 26th Summer Universiade, August 12-23, in Shenzhen, China.

2011 Summer Universiade website: http://www.sz2011.org/Universiade
Team Canada website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/universiade/summer

Joining Chetrat and Schultz is St. Catharines, Ont., native Mike Smerek, rookie Vanessa Treasure (Mississauga, Ont.), as well as veterans Heather Maitland and Pamela Ruksys.

“This is a great statement of our high performance program here at U of T,” said Varsity Blues head coach Byron MacDonald. “I expect many of these swimmers to continue their international careers after this great experience.”

A native of Oakville, Ont., Chetrat earned his ticket to China after a double-gold medal performance in the 100- and 200-metre butterfly events at the 2011 CIS championships. The 2010-11 Varsity Blues male athlete of the year also etched his name into the OUA record books multiple times in leading the U of T to their eighth consecutive OUA championship title.

Schultz won the 50-metre butterfly at the CIS championships to secure her first appearance on a senior national roster. The Toronto native has previously been named to nine national teams including the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival and the 2009 Junior Pan Pacific championships, where she won a bronze medal in the 200m individual medley (IM).

Another butterfly specialist, Smerek won his first CIS national title in the 50-metre event this season and went on to swim a personal best time in the 100 butterfly at the Swim Canada nationals to secure a spot in both events on Team Canada.

Treasure had a stellar rookie campaign this past season, earning OUA all-star and CIS all-Canadian status. The first-year physical education and health student claimed three individual silver medals at the OUA championship and went on to finish second in the 200 butterfly on the national stage.

Both seasoned veterans, Maitland and Ruksys will look to top two long distance freestyle events. Maitland, who makes her second appearance at the FISU games, will swim the 1500-metre, while Ruksys, a 2011 CIS bronze medalist, will try her luck in the 800-metre freestyle.

In addition, former Varsity Blues Cam Cummings and Zsofi Balazs made the cut. Cummings, a four-time OUA champion, capped off his intercollegiate career as the 2010 OUA 50-metre backstroke champion as well as a triple bronze medalist on the national stage. A long distance specialist, Balazs will swim alongside Maitland and Ruksys in both the 800 and 1500-metre freestyles.

University of Toronto High Performance Swim Centre head coach John Rogers will also be serving as an assistant coach on the team.

The Canadian swim team is coming off back-to-back solid showings at the biennial event with seven medals (1-4-2) in 2009 in Belgrade, Serbia, and 10 podiums (4-2-4) in 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.

No sport has brought more Universiade glory to Canada over the years. Since the inaugural Summer Games in 1959, Canadian swimmers have won 95 medals including 21 golds – both record tallies for the country.

The delegation is set to leave Canada on August 7. The Universiade swimming competition runs from August 14-19.

TEAM CANADA ROSTER

Women

Name University Hometown

Zsofia Balazs Toronto Toronto, Ont.
Julianne Brown Calgary North Vancouver, B.C.
Dominique Bouchard Missouri North Bay, Ont.
Hilary Caldwell Victoria London, Ont.
Lindsay Delmar Calgary Calgary, Alta.
MacKenzie Downing Victoria Whitehorse, Yukon
Caroline Kuczynski Arizona State Montreal, Que.
Allison Long Calgary Calgary, Alta.
Heather MacLean UBC Etobicoke, Ont.
Sandrine Mainville Cegep Édouard-Montpetit Boucherville, Que.
Heather Maitland Toronto Toronto, Ont.
Paige Miller Texas A&M Brampton, Ont.
Seanna Mitchell Calgary Manotick, Ont.
Cassie Morrice Arizona State Victoria, B.C.
Katy Murdoch Calgary Calgary, Alta.
Hanna Pierse UBC Edmonton, Alta.
Marie-Pier Ratelle Laval Trois-Rivières, Que.
Pamela Ruksys Toronto Kingston, Ont.
Paige Schultz Toronto Toronto, Ont.
Vanessa Treasure Toronto Mississauga, Ont.
Tera Van Beilen UBC Oakville, Ont.

Men

Kelly Aspinall UBC Nanoose Bay, B.C.
Adam Best Ottawa Ottawa, Ont.
Steven Bielby McGill Pointe-Claire, Que.
Jason Block Calgary Calgary, Alta.
Zack Chetrat Toronto Oakville, Ont.
Cam Cummings Toronto Oakville, Ont.
Craig Dagnall Victoria Victoria, B.C.
David Dimitrov Calgary Milton, Ont.
Richard Funk Michigan Edmonton, Alta.
Jonathan Gagné Concordia Montreal, Que.
David Hibberd Simon Fraser Calgary, Alta.
Kier Maitland UNLV Edmonton, Alta.
Dominique Massie-Martel Laval Ottawa, Ont.
Colin Miazga Calgary Saskatoon, Sask.
Tim Ruse Concordia Pointe-Claire, Que.
David Sharpe Dalhousie Halifax, N.S.
Nicholas Sinclair Victoria Victoria, B.C.
Mike Smerek Toronto St. Catharines, Ont.
Matthew Swanston Stanford Newmarket, Ont.
Kyle Troskott Texas A&M Lethbridge, Alta.
Michael Zoldos Stanford Newmarket, Ont.

STAFF

Position Name University/Club Hometown

Team leader Ken Radford Swimming Canada Victoria, B.C.
Head coach Mike Blondal Calgary Calgary, Alta.
Assistant Peter Carpenter McGill Montreal, Que.
Assistant Martin Gingras UQTR Quebec City, Que.
Assistant Steve Price EKSC Edmonton, Alta.
Assistant John Rogers UTHPC Toronto, Ont.
Manager Elizabeth El-Hawary - Halifax, N.S.
Manager Kelly Steeves - Toronto, Ont.
Therapist Rick Pelletier - Calgary, Alta.
Therapist Yanic Szoghy - Montreal, Que.