Competition resumed for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues swimming team on Day 2 of the 2026 U SPORTS Swimming Championships hosted by McMaster University on Friday, Mar. 13 at the Markham Pan Am Centre.
Heading into Day 3, both the Varsity Blues men's and women's teams are in second-place with U of T's women have 744 points and are 131.5 points ahead of McGill, meanwhile the men have accumulated 610 points and hold a 32-point lead over McGill. Overall, U of T added nine medals on Day 2, including four gold medals and have brought their weekend total to 16 on the weekend.
"All medals are precious and four gold medals showed we rose to the occasion," said Blues head coach Byron MacDonald.
MEN'S RESULTS
On the men's side, two U SPORTS records were broken by Varsity Blues swimmers. With a time of 2:06.26, second-year Pointe-Claire, Que., native Nathan Thomas out-paced the competition to earn his first career U SPORTS gold medal. "This means so much." said Thomas.
"So many swimmers start out strong at a young age but that wasn't me. I think breaking the record was so rewarding for the effort I've put in. Swimming has so many earl mornings and late night; there was so much hard work put in throughout the years and I'm grateful for the support."
Thomas received high praise from MacDonald, crediting his work effort and perseverance. "It was impressive, he changed his usual tactics in order to dictate the the race," said MacDonald. "It's a veteran move from a young swimmer."
Breaking a U SPORTS record for the second time in as many days was fourth-year kinesiology student Andrew Herman. Herman edged out UBC's Ramen Dommann to finish the race in 50.56 seconds, earning his second gold medal of the 2026 U SPORTS Swimming Championships. Added another gold for the Blue and White and breaking a U of T record was fourth-year finance and economics student Ben Loewen. Loewen showcased his versatility and finished the race in 1:56.12. "Andrew's getting into world class territory," said MacDonald.
Also adding medals for U of T was Liam Weaver who's time of 21.83 seconds earned him a silver medal, Aiden Harris swam the 50m butterfly in 23.58 seconds for the bronze medal and the men's 4x200m relay quartet of Quinn Matteis, Raymond Duong, Ben Winterborn and Mateusz Powalowski earned another bronze medal.
WOMEN'S RESULTS
On the women's side, fourth-year Schaumburg, Illinois., native Nina Mollin continued her reign of dominance in U SPORTS swimming. The veteran swimmer won her nineth career U SPORTS gold medal in the women's 200m individual medley being in the positive end of a tight race to the finish between herself and UBC's Jade Lo to touch the wall in 2:12.78. Finishing with the bronze medal in the same race was first-year kinesiology student Abbi Bahler who grabbed her second medal of the weekend with a time of 2:14.17.
U of T kicked off Day 2 with a medal as fourth-year Edmonton native Teagan Vander Leek was the bronze in the women's 50m freestyle with a time of 24.89. Meanwhile, 2025 OUA women's Rookie of the Year Chloe Danks won her first career U SPORTS medal with a bronze in the women's 200m breaststroke, setting a U of T record with a time of 2:26.87.
The 2026 U SPORTS Swimming Championships continues on Saturday, Mar. 14 at the Markham Pan Am Centre with prelims scheduled for 9:30 a.m., and a national champion being crowned when the final begins at 5:30 p.m. The event can be streamed live on CBC Sports digital platforms.
"It's important to be ready to go tomorrow," MacDonald said.
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TEAM STANDINGS
**WOMEN**
- UBC – 1073
- Toronto - 744
- McGill – 612.5
- Calgary – 471.5
- Western – 340
- Ottawa – 209
- Laval – 208
- Victoria – 175.5
- Montreal – 174.5
- Lethbridge – 135.5
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**MEN**
- UBC – 1143
- Toronto – 610
- Calgary – 578.5
- McGill – 560
- Ottawa – 156
- Montreal – 241
- Western – 230
- Victoria – 206
- McMaster – 120
- York – 99
DAY 2 RESULTS
Women 50m Freestyle
- Kayla Noelle Sanchez, UBC, 24.03 *U SPORTS Record*
- Zea M Wetzlaugk, Western, 24.76, *Western Record*
- Teegan Vander Leek, Toronto, 24.89
Men 50m Freestyle
- Yuri Kisil, UBC, 21.31 *U SPORTS Record*
- Liam Weaver, Toronto, 21.83
- Eric Ginzburg, York, 21.86
Women 200m Breaststroke
- Alexanne Lepage, Calgary, 2:20.89
- Amaris Peng, UBC, 2:26.18
- Chloe Danks, Toronto, 2:26.87 *U of T Record*
Men 200m Breaststroke
- Nathan Thomas, Toronto, 2:26.06 *U SPORTS Record*
- Justice Migneault, UBC, 2:27.21 *UBC Record*
- Sebastian Van de Logt, UBC, 2:29.03
Women 400m Freestyle
- Emma O'Croinin, UBC, 4:06.29 *UBC Record*
- Raphaelle Tremblay, Laval, 4:13.60
- Ruby Kehler, UBC, 4:14.60
Men 400m Freestyle
- Aiden Kirk, UBC, 3:44.87
- Zach Parise, UBC, 3:45.52
- Olivier Risk, UBC, 3:46.36
Women 100m Backstroke
- Bridget Burton, UBC, 57.75
- Piper Mitchell, UBC, 59.47
- Rebecca McGrath, McGill, 59.83
Men 100m Backstroke
- Andrew Herman, Toronto, 50.56 * U SPORTS Record*
- Raben Dommann, UBC, 50.68
- Lolc Courville-Fortin, McGill, 51.63
Women 200m Medley
- Nina Mollin, Toronto, 2:12.78
- Jade Lo, UBC, 2:13.15
- Abbi Bahler, Toronto, 2:14.17
Men 200m Medley
- Ben Loewen, Toronto, 1:56.12 *U of T Record*
- Raphael Blamart, Montreal, 1:58.55, *Montreal Record*
- Andrew Coombs, UBC, 1:58.77
Women 50m Butterfly
- Eloise Allen, UBC, 25.96
- Rose Garcia, UBC, 26.55
- Sydney Hardeman, Western, 26.63 *Western Record*
Men 50m Butterfly
- Kai Lilienthal, UBC, 22.66 *U SPORTS Record*
- Eric Ginzburg, York, 22.90 *York Record*
- Alym Kurji, Ottawa, 23.55
Women 4x200m Freestyle
- UBC (Ruby Kehler, Kayla Noelle Sanchez, Jade Lo, Emma O'Croinin), 7:52.88 *U SPORTS Record*
- Calgary (Alexanne Lepage, Myriam Hickey, Emily De Jager, Sarah Haugen), 8:04.16
- McGill (Harper Lipton, Iris Tinmouth, Beatrice Weiss Reid, Maya McGhan), 8:08.20
Men 4x200m Freestyle
- UBC (Zach Parise, Jake Gaunt, Paul Hebrard, Raben Dommann), 7:04.50 *Canada Senior Record*
- McGill (Hocine Feddag, Artiom Volodin, Lolc Courville-Fortin, Yegor Semenyuk), 7:09.81 *McGill Record*
- Toronto (Quinn Matteis, Raymond Duong, Ben Winterborn, Mateusz Powalowski), 7:12.88
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