Following a spectacular effort the day prior in a tri-meet, the University of Toronto swimming teams were right back in the pool hosting the Toronto Grand Prix on Saturday (Jan. 27) afternoon at the Athletic Centre.

"Brutally hard weekend," was how Varsity Blues swimming head coach Byron MacDonald described finishing off the busy weekend inside the Athletic Centre. "The meet Friday was draining physically and emotionally—of course the victory with tons of great swims was celebratory. But the huge efforts Friday night and then turning around to do another round on Saturday was a challenge. Yet come the nationals, in six weeks, that's a three-day six session meet, so we have to get used to it."

On the men's side, five Blues took top spot at the meet, with third-year political science major Jacob Gallant and rookie Bill Dongfang leading the way. Gallant finished first in both the 200m and 400m IM races with times of 2:07.61 and 4:28.17, respectively. Dongfang  alsopicked up two victories in the 100m (54.89) and 200m (2:01.89) butterfly races. 
 
Liam Weaver took the top spot in the 50m freestyle (23.12), while Andrew Herman topped the 100m backstroke (57.96). Rounding out the winners for the men was Ben Loewen who won the 200m backstroke (2:06.53).
 
For the women, both Nina Mollin and Mahaylia Datars picked up a victory each for the Blues. Mollin touched the wall first in the 200m buttefly (2:19.52), while Datars finished first in the 400m freestyle (4:24.83).

The Grand Prix featured the varsity teams from Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Waterloo, along with several individual racers from other university athletes. The National Centre was also in attendance with several international athletes.

"This is the fastest meet in the country in the first three months of the year for sure," said Calgary head coach Mike Blondal. "That's why we flew all the way out here!"

MacDonald added, "That is what we are trying to do...to host great, elite, fast swim meets. And this weekend was a huge success."

Up next, the Blues look ahead to the OUA Championships from February 16 to 18 at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont.