They are the champions: Varsity Blues men's swim team

The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s swimming team is the top men's swim team in the country. 

The Blues put an end to 18 years of domination by western Canadian teams, emerging victorious in an extraordinary three-way race to capture the 2013 CIS men's swimming title at the University of Calgary Aquatic Centre Feb 23, 2013.

The Blues upset western powerhouses UBC Thunderbirds and Calgary Dinos to claim their first national banner since 1994. 

“I’ve been doing this over 30 years, and this is the first time I remember a three-team race like this,” said longtime Varsity Blues head coach Byron McDonald, who was named the CIS men’s team coach of the year. “It brought out the best in our swimmers, and it was something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

"It’s nice to win by 150 points, but you don’t really remember that – when our swimmers go home, they’ll remember this forever.”

The 10-time OUA champion Blues claimed their CIS-leading 17th national banner in program history. The team finished with 539 points, narrowly ahead of UBC (524) and Calgary (514).

UBC and Calgary had combined for the past 18 titles, with the Thunderbirds earning a record 10 consecutive banners from 1998-2007.

The Thunderbirds overcame an eight-point Day 2 deficit and gained the lead after the men’s 100 freestyle, which saw five UBC swimmers in the A and B finals. However, the Blues battled back and returned to the top of the standings, thanks to a top B final swim by Zach Summerhayes and a fifth and eighth-place finish from David Riley and Jeremie Holdom in the 200 IM.

Oakville, Ont., native Zack Chetrat, the 2013 OUA male swimmer of the year, placed fourth in the 1500m freestyle (15:30.78), moving Toronto 27 points ahead of the Thunderbirds heading into the final relay of the night.

Despite UBC winning the final 4x100 medley relay event, the Blues team of Chetrat, Riley, Matthew Myers and Brian Lee placed fifth, earning enough points to bring the Nelson C. Hart Trophy back to Toronto.

Lee, a rookie sensation from Sault Ste Marie, Ont., kicked off Day 3 with a big silver-medal performance in the men’s 50 breaststroke (27.95), finishing just 0.73 seconds behind Calgary’s Jason Block (27.22).

Myers followed that up with a silver-medal finish in the 200 backstroke in a time of 1:55.89, narrowly out-touched by Calgary’s Gleb Suvorov (1:55.29).

Toronto native David Dorian was also named the recipient of the CIS community service award.

Toronto’s women claimed the CIS bronze for the second consecutive season, finishing with 300 points. The Thunderbirds successfully defended their national title with a dominant 691.5 points, ahead of the silver-medalist Dinos with 548 points.

Bridget Coley was U of T’s lone female swimmer to reach the podium on Day 3, winning her first CIS individual medal - a bronze in the 800 freestyle with a time of 8:44.47. 

COMPLETE RESULTS HERE.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

Women

1. UBC, 691.5 points
2. Calgary, 548
3. Toronto, 300
4. Montreal, 270.5
5. Dalhousie, 251
6. Western, 216
7. Laval, 164
8. McGill, 160
9. Alberta, 150.5
10. UQTR, 148
11. McMaster, 133
12. Victoria, 97
13. Ottawa, 84
14. Guelph, 78
15. Wilfrid Laurier, 26
16. Manitoba, 25
17. Sherbrooke, 15.5
18. Laurentian, 14
19. UQAM, 10
20. Regina, 7
21. Brock, 3
22. UNB, 1

Men (Nelson C. Hart trophy)

1. Toronto, 539 points
2. UBC, 524
3. Calgary, 514
4. Victoria, 273.5
5. Laval, 246
6. Alberta, 239
7. McMaster, 180
8. McGill, 171.5
9. Montreal, 143
10. Western, 142
11. Dalhousie, 127
12. Lethbridge, 82
13. Ottawa, 66
14. Guelph, 62
15. Manitoba, 37
16. Acadia, 14
17. Waterloo, 12
18. Regina, 3