Traveling to London to challenge a long time provincial rival, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's swimming teams earned victories over the Western Mustangs on Saturday.

The men topped the Mustangs 85-66, while the women scored a 79-75 victory in the dual meet.

"I love our dual meets with Western every year as old rivalries create great memories," said Varsity Blues head coach Byron MacDonald. "Western is one of the only Ontario schools that we are still able to have dual meets like this with, so it is special every time."

In a close competition for the women, Toronto knew they were in for a battle as two of their top women were absent owing to impending races in Europe, while another two were last minute scratches due to illness. Several swimmers stepped up though to fill the void including third-year swimmer Haley Klenk who won the 200m IM. Meanwhile, another highlight for the Blues was fellow third-year swimmer Angie Bath who finished first overall in the 200m backstroke. And the star of the meet for U of T was without a doubt second-year standout Teagan Vander Leek. The Edmonton, Alta. native won all three of the 50m, 100m, and 200m freestyle events, taking the first two in convincing fashion.

"Every team has bona fide stars, but the reason we have been able to win national titles is that our team depth is outstanding," added MacDonald about the women's performance on the day. "Haley won medals in all four of her events at the national championship last year; Angie has stepped up her training with her new faster rev-stroke which is paying off with top swims; and Teagan has a commitment and persistence that I am proud to be witness too every day in the pool."

Shifting to the men's side, two swimmers were able to experience a homecoming for the event, swimming in front of their hometown fans as products of London, Ont. Third-year engineering major Carter Buck dominated in his wins in the 100m and 200m backstroke. While fellow London native Ahmed El Tataway posted some top times and served as anchor in the men's sprint relay victory for the Blues.

Additional strong outings included first-year swimmer Bill Dongfang winning both the 200m butterfly and 200m freestyle, and veteran Graeme Aylward delivering impressive wins in the 100m and 200m breaststroke events.

"Carter is one of the most consistently hard working athletes on the team, so it was good to see him claim victory today," said Varsity Blues assistant head coach Linda Keifer. "The strong swims from Ahmed, Bill, and Graeme were also great to watch. The added benefit with Graeme is he is also one of the best captains I have ever had on the team with his leadership and people skills - makes our job as coaches easier."

Several Blues will return to Varsity Pool at the Athletic Centre tomorrow (Jan. 21) for the U of T Winter Invitational. This will be followed by a tri-meet with the Calgary Dinos and Ottawa Gee-Gees at the Athletic Centre on Friday (Jan. 26) evening.