All in all, the Swansea University swimming team performed well at the weekend – a great weekends work and a great stepping stone into Commonwealth Trials starting 10th April in Glasgow.
The event was the annual pilgrimage to the North West. Ponds Forge, Sheffield for the BUCS Gatorade Nationals and more specifically the Long Course Swimming Championships.
Swansea University sent a somewhat depleted team to the event, with a bulk of the team having one eye on the horizon and the Commonwealth trials in six weeks time. This is the first BUCS event for Swansea since the inception of the Swim Wales National Performance Centre, based at Wales National Pool. An excellent starting point for the all new Swim Wales High Performance Centre and with the further support and investment of all funding bodies, they can be sure of a bright future.
The team got off to a great start on the first evening with a table topping end to the Distance events. Libby Mitchell (3rd year Sports Science) got the point’s ball rolling, with a lifetime best in an unchartered event, the 800 Freestyle. Libby finished 4th overall scoring valuable points.
Libby’s teammate and fellow 3rd year Sports Science student Chris Suggitt was also to finish just outside the medals with a 4th in the 1500m Freestyle but Chris secured a lifetime best and valuable points for the overall team score.
Day two saw the impact of the depleted members of the team, however they dug deep and produced some outstanding swims to finish day 2 in 3rd overall. Day two belonged to Alys Thomas (3rd Year, Psychology) with Gold in the 100m Butterfly in a season best time. Alys has one eye on Glasgow and the trials for the Commonwealth Games. Not to be outdone, Libby Mitchell produced a best time in the final of the 200 Freestyle, to pick up a bronze. The two then came together with team mates Ella Hatton (2nd Year English) and Hannah Mc Carthy (2nd year Politics) to pick up bronze for the second successive year in the 4×100 Freestyle team.
Other Medals on Day two went to Alice Tennant (3rd year, Law) who stood on the podium twice with Bronze in both the 400m Individual Medley (IM) and a superb lifetime best to take Bronze in the unchartered 200m Backstroke. Tennant was not the only Medallist in the 400m IM with Chris Suggitt picking up Silver in the male equivalent with a strong best time. Chris has medalled each year he has competed at BUCS and continued his success in this 3rd year.
Charlotte Bryan (Foundation Biology) continued the form she showed at BUCS Short Course in December with a bronze in the 50m Backstroke in a season best time. Fern Davies (3rd Year Business Management) also stood on the podium with a Bronze medal swim in the 400IM just behind team mate Alice Tennant. Fern had a great weekend of racing considering her illness 24hrs prior to travel.
Other Finalists on day two included Oliver Tennant (Foundation Sports Science) and Adam Rowe (2nd Year History) who finished 7th & 8th respectively in the Men’s 200m Freestyle. Charlotte Bryan, finished 9th in the 200m Backstroke. House & Team mate Hannah Mc Carthy finished 5th in a season best time in the splash and dash 50m Freestyle with training partner James Brinkley (3rd year Business Management) finishing 9th.
Day 3 saw Swansea stave off a close contest from their nearest celtic rivals, Edinburgh. The efforts were helped by a number of great individual swims with Commonwealth hopeful Alys Thomas standing on top of the podium in the 200m Butterfly. Team Mate Fern Davies made it a one/two for Swansea in an event we have a strong tradition in. Alys and Fern both picked up a further individual medal with a Bronze each in the 50m Butterfly and 200 IM respectively.
Alice Tennant took silver with a very pleasing 200m IM in what was a real ding dong battle with Edinburgh’s Emily Jones. Charlotte Bryan gained another medal on day three. This time it was Silver in a season best time for the 100m Backstroke. This is great to see, with only 5 weeks left until Commonwealth trials.
Not to be outshone by the ladies Lewis Smith produced an excellent season’s best in the 200m Butterfly picking a hard fought bronze medal against some serious international competition. Training partner Chris Suggitt carried on where he left off on Day two with another podium performance in the 200m IM finishing in 3rd spot in a lifetime best.
The Swansea contingent fought hard on the final two 4×100 Freestyle relays with the girls picking up the final medal of the meet. This time it was silver with a great effort from the four girls (Bryan, Tennant, Thomas & Mitchell). The boys team of Smith, Suggitt, Mallett & Brinkley put up a good fight ensuring another top ten finish with 6th in their A final.
Gemma Almond was to prove to be a valuable member of the Swansea team picking up numerous individual points in the Multi Classification (MC) events. Gemma was to top the medal podium on day three with Gold in the MC 100m Backstroke. Gemma also scored valuable points in the 200m IM and 100m Butterfly. Other Top ten performances on Day three went to Hannah Mc Carthy 6th – 100m Freestyle and Adam Mallett 7th – 200m Butterfly.
