Swimmer Bielby golden against Ivy Leaguers

by Earl Zukerman

The McGill swim team spent the weekend south of the border with a pair of dual meets against Ivy League teams at Yale in New Haven, Conn., and Brown in Providence, Rhode Island.

Yale swept the Saturday meet, outscoring the Redmen 178-79 and defeating the Martlets by a similar 188-73 margin.

Brown also swept their meet, outpointing the Redmen 179-100 and posting a 184-83 margin of victory over the Martlets.

Despite the lopsided team scores against the NCAA squads, which carry much larger rosters, there were a number of top individual performances by McGill swimmers.

Steven Bielby, a 5-foot-7 freshman from Pointe Claire, Que., won eight of his nine races, meeting the CIS championship standards in each of his victories. The 19-year-old electrical engineering major accounted for 33 per cent of McGill’s race victories against Yale on Friday, winning the 100-and 200-yard freestyles, the 200 butterfly and the 200 individual medley.

Against Brown the next day, Bielby won the 200 and 500 freestyles, the 200 fly and anchored the 4x500 freestyle relay to victory, along with fellow Pointe Claire native Jason Boivin, a freshman who swam leadoff, followed by junior Sean Bell of Barrie, Ont., and Sam Thrall, a sophomore from Oakville, Ont.

The only other member of the Redmen to win an event over the weekend, was Francois Castonguay, a fifth-year veteran from Quebec City, who was clocked at 53.46 seconds in the 100 fly at Yale.

On the women’s side, Leanne Roach, an 18-year-old science freshman from Riverview, N.B., won three races and had a pair of second-place finishes. She won the 200 breaststroke against Yale in two minutes, 25.03 seconds, then won the same event at Brown in 2:26.71. She also topped all Yale swimmers in the 100 breaststroke, clocking in at 1:08.61.

The McGill squad is back on the road this week for a dual meet at the University of Toronto, Nov. 1.

McGILL GOLD MEDALISTS AT YALE (Oct. 24):
(25-yard pool)

REDMEN:
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (100 freestyle, 0:42.03)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (200 freestyle, 1:41.10)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (200 butterfly, 1:53.52)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (200 indiv. medley, 1:52.92)
GOLD: Francois Castonguay, Quebec City, Que., (100 butterfly, 0:53.46)

MARTLETS:
GOLD: Leanne Roach, Riverview, N.B. (200 breaststroke, 2:25.03)

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McGILL GOLD MEDALISTS AT BROWN (Oct. 25):
(25-yard pool)

REDMEN:
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (200 freestyle, 1:42.83)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (500 freestyle, 4:39.02)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (200 butterfly, 1:55.00)
GOLD: Steven Bielby, Pte. Claire, Que., (4x50 free relay, 1:17.77)
GOLD: Jason Boivin, Pte. Claire, Que., (4x50 free relay, 1:17.77)
GOLD: Sean Bell, Barrie, Ont., (4x50 free relay, 1:17.77)
GOLD: Samuel Thrall, Oakville, Ont., (4x50 free relay, 1:17.77)

MARTLETS:
GOLD: Leanne Roach, Riverview, N.B. (100 breaststroke, 1:08.61)
GOLD: Leanne Roach, Riverview, N.B. (200 breaststroke, 2:26.71)