TORONTO – The Calgary Dinos swim team wrapped up its two-week training trip with a pit stop in Toronto Saturday for a dual meet with the University of Toronto from inside the Athletic Centre Varsity Pool. Calgary picked up seven wins in the dual meet with the Varsity Blues in a battle between two of the premier programs across Canada.

The events featured at this dual meet were the men's and women's 200 medley relay, 400 individual medley, 100 backstroke, 100 breaststroke, 100 butterfly, 200 free, 50 free, 800 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 100 free, 200 fly, 400 free and 200 free relay all in the span of just two hours. Many of these swimmers competing in 3-4 events in this short amount of time. 

In the 200 medley relay, Eliza Housman, Alexanne Lepage, Hayley French and Julianne Moore were able to secure the first place finish against the Blues with an outstanding swim from each. The Dinos had a lot of depth in the 400IM as seven out of the ten swimmers in this event were Dinos who respectively earned points for the team, with Hannah Bennett (second), Isabella Mastroianni (third), and Matthew Syrgiannis (second) all placing within the top three. 

The 100 breaststroke was a highlight for the meet as Lepage paved the way for her heat with teammate Danika Ethier following closely. Lepage finished first with a time of 1:06.84, and Ethier finishing second with a time of 1:11.27. On the men's side, Aiden Luykennar had a great in-season swim and placed first in this event with a time of 1:03.14 with an amazing finish to out touch his opponent. Jett Verjee followed his lead in this heat and placed third with a time of 1:04.39.

In the men's 100 fly, Nicholas Duncan and Thomas McDonald proved how challenging your teammates at meets can be essential as they pushed each other throughout this race with Duncan finishing second and McDonald placing third. 

There was a show down among the Bennett sisters in the 200 freestyle, with Hannah Bennett placing third with a time of 2:07.64 and Claire Bennett finishing just behind her in fourth. In the men's 200 freestyle, Liam Dennett and Gibson Black respectively placed second (Dennett) and third (Black). 

Rookie Eric Moore followed in his sibling's footsteps while representing the sprint life as he placed third in the 50 freestyle, hitting the wall at 23.47. Hunter Payne swam to second place in his 800 freestyle after a very demanding race. 

In the women's 200 back, Brooklyn Avey finished third followed closely by teammate Mastroianni, who hit the wall at fourth place. In the men's 200 backstroke, Syrgiannis proved his depth in events as he came second overall. 

Women's 200 breast was very strong for the Dinos, as it featured Lepage (first), Ethier (second) and Isabella Duncan (third). The men's 200 breast was just as exciting as Luykenaar placed second, and Nicholas Duncan placing fourth after dropping nearly five seconds. Distance freestyle specialist Xavier Pimentel also swam this event and took off 31.85 seconds from his best time.

The 100 freestyle featured sprint specialist Eliza Housman who finished with a time of 57.66 and placed second overall. Hayley French carried the women's 200 fly, winning this event with a time of 2:18.16. Claire Bennett was star for the 400 freestyle, finishing third overall. The men's 400 freestyle featured four Dinos; Payne (second), Charlie Skalenda (third), Dennett (fourth), and Pimentel (fifth).

Assistant coach Ray Betuzzi spoke to the timing of the meet and the efforts from the Dinos: "Coming off a long hard training camp, we focused on executing our race plans and the technical work we have put in. We always hope for faster swimming, but we look forward to seeing these results better at U SPORTS."

Isabella Mastroianni also was proud of the team's efforts. "The most important thing about this past weekend is we went out there, gave it our all, and we had fun, which I think is the most important thing when it comes to racing in January. After 15 days of training camp and a long 24-hour travel day, it's important for us to not get in our heads about the times we swim, but how the races are executed."

The Dinos now turn their attention to one final regular season meet Jan. 31-Feb. 1 for the annual Colleges Cup before returning to Toronto for the 2025 U SPORTS National Championships March 6-8.

Overall team scores: 
Men: 
Toronto – 88 points
Calgary – 63 points
Women:
Toronto – 82 points 
Calgary – 63 points

-UC-