The University of Toronto Varsity Blues look to continue their reign of dominance at the 2026 OUA Swimming Championships, February 19-21, inside the Athletic Centre Varsity Pool.

On the men's side, the Blues are looking to claim their 22nd straight provincial title and 72nd banner in program history. Meanwhile, the women's team is in search of their 12th straight championship and 36th in program history.

The 2026 OUA Championships begin on Thursday (Feb. 19) morning at 10 a.m., with tickets available at varsityblues.ca/tickets. Races will be live streamed on oua.tv.

MEN'S PREVIEW: The No. 4 nationally ranked Blues come into the OUA Championships with fresh faces and seasoned veterans, who are looking to add more hardware to their resumes.

Fourth-year finance and economics student Ben Loewen looks to become a grand slam champion in the men's 200m backstroke. Loewen's record-breaking 2025 OUA Championships performance saw him take home four individual gold medals, setting OUA records in the 100m backstroke and butterfly. He was named the OUA Male Swimmer of the Year for his efforts a season ago, and has since had the chance to compete with Team Canada at the FISU Summer World University Games and has been selected for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

An impressive group of backstroke swimmers all-around, fourth-year veteran Andrew Herman and second-year Varsity Blue Ben Winterborn add to the depth and consistency on display for the men's team. Each have laid claim to OUA backstroke records, while both have also contributed to record breaking relay performances.

Additional veterans to keep an eye on throughout the three-day championship will include Carter Buck, Liam Weaver, Bill Dongfang, Michael Sava, and Quinn Matteis. Meanwhile, first-year sensation Elijah Daley and 2025 U SPORTS Swimming Male Rookie of the Year Nathan Thomas will both look to add even more points for the Blues in the butterfly and breaststroke disciplines, respectively.

WOMEN'S PREVIEW: The No. 2 nationally ranked Blues are poised to continue their dominance and remain one of the best teams in the country.

Leading the way for U of T is fourth-year Schaumburg, Illinois native Nina Mollin. The 2025 OUA Women's Swimmer of the Year looks to become a grand slam champion, aiming to win the 200m butterfly and 200m IM for a fourth time. After five total first-place finishes last year, Mollin now holds 12 provincial gold medals, and she is set to add even more in front of a home crowd at Varsity Pool this weekend.

Fellow fourth-year veteran Teagan Vander Leek is also set to add to an already-decorated career. The Edmonton native earned two individual and two relay gold medals at the 2025 championships, dominating in the sprints to help lead the Blues to another provincial banner. Afterwards, she was one of three Varsity Blues women selected to compete as part of Team Canada in the inaugural Canada-Great Britain Dual Meet, helping the Red and White claim victory in Loughborough, England last July.

Further veterans to watch will include Katie Marovino, Gemma Norman, Teagan McKenzie and Kayla Houlder, while a strong compliment of first and second-year Blues will feature Sydney Stewart, Angel Yao, Natalie Hocevar, Julie Nolan-McCarthy, Chloe Danks, Milena Cosic, Maria Cosic, and Abbi Bahler.