Laurentian swim coach Phil Parker took advantage of relative proximity last weekend, guiding a split squad through a pair of competitions in southern Ontario.

The bulk of the Aqua Vees and Aqua Voyageurs were in St Catherines, taking part in the Brock and Mac Cup with six other schools.

Making her return to the university scene after a one year absence, PEI native Brittany Maltais led the ladies, placing second in the 50m breaststroke (34.95) and also helped the relay team to a third place finish in the 400m freestyle event.

Jessica Pothier also had a strong showing, placing fourth in the 400m freestyle (4:36.72), just 5/100th of a second back of a podium finish.

On the men’s side, Nicholas Lapointe led the podium push with a second place finish in the 200m butterfly (2:20.53), in addition to helping the LU relay teams to a pair of bronze medal performances in the 200m medley and 400m freestyle races.

Matt Huetl helped the cause with a third place finish in the 100m freestyle (54.45), with Matt Wormington matching that placement in the 400m freestyle (4:25.46).

The Vees/Voyageurs travelled south with a solid contingent of swimmers, with the likes of Patricia Moore, Wendy Oleskiw, James Holden, Jake Meyermann, Daniel Juhasz, Laura Kendall and Elyse Latimer all taking part.

In team standings, the Laurentian men finished third, with the ladies placing fifth, leaving the LU Aqua crew holding down third spot in the overall aggregate results.

Meanwhile in Etobicoke, Emily Jones donned the SLSC (Sudbury Laurentian Swim Club) colours at the Canada Cup, advancing to the finals in both the 50 metre and 100 metre backstroke events.

Jones posted a time of 30.60 in the 50m final, touching the wall in 1:05.77 in the 100 metre distance. Both times were slightly back of her preliminary times needed to qualify for the finals as Jones completed the races in 29.74 seconds and 1:03.67 respectively.

Jones was joined at the Canada Cup competition by a local contingent of Kelly Hotta, Julie Langlois and Michael Murray.

The Laurentian University crew will now wind things down over the exam break, back in the water in January as they gear up for the OUA Championships being hosted at the Jeno Tihanyi Olympic Gold Pool from February 9th to the 11th.