Smal Hits U SPORTS Standard Again

(HALIFAX, NS) Swimmers posted 36 U SPORTS Championship qualifying times on the second day of competition at the Kemp-Fry Invitational swim meet, at Dalhousie University, including UNB's Leah Smal (Fredericton, NB), who qualified in an event for the second straight day.

The evening session featured 16 finals, with McGill winning eight and the host Tigers claiming victory in five.

Smal continued to impress, winning both the women's 50-metre freestyle and backstroke events, in U SPORTS qualifying times. She also earned a spot at the national championships in the 200-metre backstroke with a third-place finish.

Smal also anchored UNB's third place finish in the women's 4 X 100-metre freestyle relay.

On the men's side of the competition, Erik Staeben raced to a third place finish in the 100-metre butterfly.

"I was very pleased with the overall performance of our team," said Reds head coach Robin Ferdinand. "Leah continues to dominate, but we had other strong swims from a number of young swimmers, including Erik, who posted a lifetime best to claim his third place."

Day three of the Kemp-Fry Invitational begins Sunday at 10:00am, with preliminaries, followed by finals at 4:30pm.

RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics, with files from Dal Athletics

PHOTO BY: HFX Collective/for Dal Athletics