The Varsity Reds tore it up in the pool yesterday at day one of Acadia's Jack Scholtz Invitational Swim Meet -including an outstanding performance from rookie Charli LeBlanc.
LeBlanc became the first swimmer from the AUS to qualify for the national championships this season, reaching the golden standard in 50m backstroke.
It was one of three first-place finishes for the rookie from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on Saturday. She also came out on top in the 100m backstroke and the 400m medley relay, along with teammates Lauren Adam, Allison Somers and sister Jessica LeBlanc.
Charli LeBlanc is one of a couple additions to the V-Reds that has head coach Robin Ferdinand thinking this season could blow everyone out of the water.
"The first day of this weekend has brought significantly better results than I was expecting," Ferdinand said. "We are only eleven points behind Dal on the women's side, so we're going to make a big push tomorrow and see what happens."
Brandon Warren, who came off another great summer of open-water swimming, was also strong in the pool on Saturday, placing second in the 400m freestyle. Allison Somers and Jessica LeBlanc were two and three in the 50m butterfly, and Somers was third in 200m butterfly. Lauren Adam placed third in 50m breaststroke.
The Varsity Reds hit the pool at Acadia again today.
UNB Swimming @ Acadia for Jack Scholtz Invitational Swim Meet
October 17-18, 2014
Session 1- Top 3 performances
Womens 200 free relay-3rd- Greene, Mercier, J.LeBlanc, C.LeBlanc
Womens 50 butterfly- 2nd- Allison Somers, 3rd- Jessica LeBlanc
Womens 100 backstroke- 1st – Charli LeBlanc
Mens 400 free- 2nd- Brandon Warren
Womens 50 breast- 3rd- Lauren Adam
Womens 50 back- 1st- Charli LeBlanc**, 2nd- Amanda Greene
Womens 200 Fly- 3rd- Allison Somers
Womens 400 Medley Relay- 1st- C. Leblanc, L. Adam, A. Somers, J.LeBlanc
Mens 400 Medley Relay- 3rd- S. Mills, D. Thibodeau, T. Dalke, B. Warren
**- Charli LeBlanc 50 Back- CIS qualifying standard (only AUS qualifier so far)