The past weekend the University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimming teams traveled south of the border to compete in a pair of dual meets with the women challenging Rutgers University and the men competing against Columbia University.

Beginning with the women, U of T was able to race to a 131-131 tie versus the Scarlet Knights. With the teams competing across 16 different disciplines, the Blues and Scarlet Knights each saw swimmers take the top step in eight events.

For Toronto, fifth-year veteran Ainsley McMurray was a standout on the day finishing in first place in the 50, 100 and 200 yard freestyle races. Impressing in the distance events with two come-from-behind efforts, second-year swimmer Katie Marovino claimed the top step in both the 1000 yard freestyle and 500 yard freestyle.The Blues also took gold in the 100 yard backstroke courtesy first-year backstroke specialist Katie Schroeder. Schroeder would also finish second in the 200 yard backstroke. Rounding out the individual first place results for the Blues was second-year swimmer Nina Mollin who captured first overall in the 200 yard butterfly. Meanwhile, the foursome of Teagan Vander Leek, Haley Klenk, Raili Kary, and Lily Chubaty combined to win the 200 yard freestyle relay.

"It was a great event for our women and it was fun to end the dual meet on a tie," said Varsity Blues swimming assistant head coach Linda Kiefer. "Our swimmers aren't used to racing yards so they had to adjust turns and pacing, but they rose to the occasion."

Shifting to the men at Columbia, the Blues finished in second versus the Lions with a 172-89 final score in the dual meet.

Leading the charge for the Blues after recently claiming two medals at the 2023 Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, third-year breaststroke specialist Gabriel Mastromatteo won both the 100 and 200 yard breaststroke races. Additionally, U of T took the top step in the 200 yard butterfly courtesy second-year swimmer Ben Loewen. In total, Toronto added six second place finishes including Carter Buck in the 100 yard backstroke, Liam Weaver in the 50 yard freestyle, Quinn Matteis in the 500 yard freestyle, Jacob Gallant in the 200 yard individual medley, and both the 200 yard freestyle relay and 200 yard medley relay.

"This is by far the best team Columbia has had in the twenty years we have been coming here and they swam to their potential and earned the victory over us," noted Varsity Blues head coach Byron MacDonald of the opponent. "Yes, we traveled and swam right off the plane, but we do need to do better, so I'd say it's a bit of a wake up call for our men's team which is fine to have early in the season. We still had some major highlights though including Ben's come-from-behind win in the 200 fly and Gabe joining us after a 10-hour flight from the Pan Am Games to then swim and win in just a few hours after landing."

The Blues will continue to compete versus NCAA opposition as they next travel to Florida Atlantic University. The dual meet with the Owls of Boca Raton, Florida is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4.