The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's swimming teams continued to build on their lead following another stellar performance on Day 2 (Feb. 17) of the 2024 OUA Swimming Championships, hosted by Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont.

Adding another 14 provincial medals on the second day of competition, including six gold, the No. 2 nationally ranked Varsity Blues women continue to remain atop the overall standings. U of T's women hold a 365-point advantage with 772 total points scored so far, followed behind in second by Western (407) and in third McMaster (285).

The Toronto women impressed with two complete podium sweeps on Day 2, earning all three medals in both the 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle events. Even more impressive, the Blues took up the entire Top 5 finishers in both events, displaying the depth of talent within the U of T women's roster.

Picking up her third and fourth gold medal of the weekend, fifth-year veteran Ainsley McMurray continued to shine at the provincial showcase winning the 50m freestyle and 50m butterfly. Highlighting the day for the Montreal native, McMurray set a new OUA record time of 24.72 en route to first-place in the 50m freestyle, breaking the previous mark of 24.77 set in 2018 by Varsity Blues alumna and current Canadian Olympian Kylie Masse.

The No. 3 nationally ranked Varsity Blues men's team secured nine Day 2 medals, including two gold, taking their two-day total up to 20 provincial medals. The Toronto men extended their first-place advantage in the team standings, now holding strong with 617 total points scored, while Western (420) and McMaster (325) follow behind in the silver and bronze positions.

Breaking an OUA record for a second consecutive day, second-year swimmer Andrew Herman was outstanding in capturing gold in the men's 100m backstroke. Herman's new record time of 53.65 replaces the previous mark of 53.70 set by Guelph Gryphons swimmer Sean Sepulis at the 2001 OUA Championships.

"While the teams are comfortably ahead in the team standings, my talk to them tonight was to make sure they don't shift down," said Varsity Blues head coach Byron MacDonald following Day 2. "These meet is a rehearsal for the national championships in three weeks and it will be an even tougher three days, so the athletes must push themselves to get used to it now."

The OUA Swimming Championships will conclude tomorrow (Feb. 18), beginning with preliminary heats in the morning at 10 a.m., followed by finals in the afternoon at 4 p.m. All the action inside the Eleanor Misener Aquatic Centre will be streamed live on oua.tv.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
400m Freestyle
1) Mahaylia Datars – 4:14.21 (Toronto)
2) Danielle Treasure – 4:16.13 (Western)
3) Teagan McKenzie – 4:18.98 (Toronto)

50m Butterfly
1) Ainsley McMurray – 27.10 (Toronto)
2) Hannah Gallagher – 27.58 (Waterloo)
3) Tatum O'Connor – 27.69 (Brock)

200m Breaststroke
1) Shona Branton – 2:26.56* (Western)
2) Sydney Winokur – 2:32.62 (Toronto)
3) Tina Guan – 2:32.66 (Toronto)

100m Backstroke
1) Katie Schroeder – 1:00.24 (Toronto)
2) Raili Kary – 1:00.54 (Toronto)
3) Haley Klenk – 1:01.06 (Toronto)

200m Butterfly
1) Nina Mollin – 2:14.66 (Toronto)
2) Katie Stanojlovic – 2:19.41 (Toronto)
3) Heidi Bartoch – 2:19.63 (Western)

50m Freestyle
1) Ainsley McMurray – 24.72* (Toronto)
2) Lily Chubaty – 25.48 (Toronto)
3) Gemma Norman – 25.90 (Toronto)

4x200m Freestyle Relay
1) Toronto – 8:16.31 (Haley Klenk, Mahaylia Datars, Teagan McKenzie, Anna Hein)
2) Western – 8:25.69
3) McMaster – 8:29.59

WOMEN'S STANDINGS:
1. Toronto - 772
2. Western - 407
3. McMaster - 285
4. Waterloo - 262
5. Guelph - 210
6. Brock - 110
7. Laurier - 67
8. Queen's - 64
9. Carleton - 32
10. York - 32

MEN'S RESULTS:
400m Freestyle
1) Kieran Stone – 3:53.95 (Western)
2) Isaac Allen – 3:55.55 (Western)
3) Quinn Matteis – 3:58.12 (Toronto)

50m Butterfly
1) Eric Ginzburg – 24.09 (York)
2) Lukas Wormald – 24.24 (Waterloo)
3) Ziyad Salouse – 24.64 (Western)

200m Breaststroke
1) Cameron Johnsen – 2:12.05 (McMaster)
2) Jacob Gallant – 2:13.33 (Toronto)
3) Graeme Aylward – 2:13.88 (Toronto)

100m Backstroke
1) Andrew Herman – 53.65* (Toronto)
2) Carter Buck – 54.39 (Toronto)
3) Finn Tuck– 55.10 (Carleton)

200m Butterfly
1) Kevin Zhang – 1:58.90 (Waterloo)
2) Ben Loewen – 1:58.95 (Toronto)
3) Bill Dongfang – 1:59.60 (Toronto)

50m Freestyle
1) Eric Ginzburg – 22.43 (York)
2) Liam Weaver – 22.62 (Toronto)
3) Allen Zheng – 22.71 (Waterloo)

4x200m Freestyle Relay
1) Toronto – 7:30.84 (Brendan Oswald, Max Tambling, Jacob Gallant, Quinn Matteis)
2) Western – 7:32.49
3) McMaster – 7:33.78

MEN'S STANDINGS:
1. Toronto - 617
2. Western - 420
3. McMaster - 325
4. Waterloo - 293
5. Laurier - 146
6. York - 113
7. Guelph - 106
8. Brock - 84
9. Carleton - 77
10. Queen's - 45
 
 
*OUA Record