Mac's good look

For the Marauder swimming teams, reading week marked the culmination of a long and successful season. With such a young roster, the outlook was uncertain for the squads in September. Fast-forward several months, however, and the Mac swimmers have plenty to be proud about.

During regular season competitions the Maroon and Grey enjoyed outstanding performances by rookie swimmers on both the men’s and women’s sides, propelling Mac to CIS top ten rankings each week they were published.

Coming off extremely successful results from a year ago, it was a pleasant surprise for the Marauders to set the bar even higher this season. The OUA championships in early February were a testament to the talent on this team and just how hard they worked all season.

Mac swimmers not only set personal marks and team bests but broke provincial records as well. Toronto was a great showing and though concluding a season on such a note would be more than satisfactory, all roads lead to Calgary where the teams would have to face the nation’s best. In a field that included Canadian Olympians and junior champions, Mac held their own.

After the first day of competition, the Maroon and Grey managed to reach the podium in multiple events, including a team-record breaking performance by Konrad Bald in the 100m breaststroke in which he captured a silver medal.

When all was said and done, Mac managed to finish ranked in the top ten on both sides. The men finish the season in the No. 7 spot and the women end up at No. 8 overall. At the tournament UBC repeated as women’s champion and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues captured the men’s title. McMaster’s men finished in seventh and the women finished in eleventh place.

Looking to return many key parts to the roster, next season has a bright outlook for Mac’s swimming program. As one of the top CIS competing teams on campus, plenty more hype can be expected to follow such favorable results.