2009-2010 Season Recap

More often than not, it’s a case of quality over quantity for head coach Phil Parker and the members of the Laurentian Aqua Vees swim team. That was certainly the predominant theme once again in 2009-0210, as decent team results were interspersed with elite level individual performances in the pool.

The highlight of the season, from a Laurentian standpoint, came at the OUA championships when second year P.E.I. native Brittany Maltais erased the 17 year old record of Marianne Limpert in the 50m breaststroke. Maltais, who earned Laurentian Female Athlete of the Year honours for a second straight time, captured Gold in the event, touching the wall in a time of 32.58 seconds.

In the process, she becomes the third L.U. swimmer currently in the OUA record book, joining Nancy Sweetnam (200m breaststroke – 1994) and double Olympic Gold medalist Alex Baumann (200m & 400m I.M. – 1984).

But the record-setting performance was merely the tip of the iceberg for a successful season, overall, for the Laurentian crew, according to Parker. With a team of just four men entered in the OUA championship, the Voyageurs were pleased to post a team showing that equaled that of the previous year, despite numbers that were clearly lower than usual.

“Mike Murray really stepped up with some strong swims and the relays came through very well”, noted Parker. In fact, a 41 second personal best swim by Murray in the 1500m freestyle was enough to lift the Ajax native to his first CIS championship appearance.

“On women’s side, there were no major surprises, we were right where we thought we would” stated Parker, who fields an impressive top four quartet that includes Kyleigh Commito, Jenn Piper, freshman Emily Jones as well as the afore-mentioned Brittany Maltais.

“There was a pretty close battle between four teams, from fifth to eighth” adds Parker, as the L.U. women finish 7th for a second straight year.  “For our situation here at Laurentian, we need to focus more on the individual component – I need to divert more of my energies on the ones who will place at nationals, medal at provincials – and I think the swimmers understand that.”