Cassey Mooney leads Varsity Reds with CIS-qualifying time

Cassey Mooney topped off a strong performance from UNB at the Dalhousie AUS Invitational Swim Meet, qualifying for the CIS national championship in 200m breaststroke.

Mooney swam lifetime bests in each of her events over the weekend and made the 'A' final (top 6) in all breaststroke events. 

It was the icing on the cake for a competition that UNB head coach Robin Ferdinand says the team used to put together a strategy for the AUS championship.

"The swimmers were rested and swimming was fast, so we got a great feel for our strengths and weaknesses," Ferdinand said. "We had some extremely strong performances. Many swimmers had lifetime bests."

Ferdinand also points out some weaknesses in the squad, particularly that they were too deep in some events and noticeably absent in others. 

She says the team plans to take the next couple of weeks to re-evaluate the events they need to 'step up' in to get the extra points for a stronger presence. 

Montreal's McGill University travelled to Halifax for the meet, which Ferdinand says took the level of competition up a notch. 

"McGill had an extremely strong contingent which meant our athletes had to swim fast during heats just to make the finals," she said. "That's great preparation for AUS and CIS championships."

In addition to Mooney's breakthrough swim, the Varsity Reds saw strong performances from Charli LeBlanc and Lauren Adam.

LeBlanc, who earlier in the season became the first swimmer in the AUS to qualify for the national championship, finally reached her goal of breaking 30 seconds in the 50m back with a time of 29.63. It's something she had been working on for nearly two years. This also gave her the UNB record for the event.

Adam had a great swim for third place in the 50m breaststroke, posting a time of 33.83.

On the men's side, Scott Mills had top five finishes in both the 100m and 200m backstroke. Brandon Warren had top eight finishes in the distance free events.

Next up for the Varsity Reds is the Invitational Meet at UPEI on January 17-18. 

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AUS Invitational Swim Meet- November 22-23, 2014 

VReds Top 8 performances

Charli LeBlanc- 3^rd- 50 back, 6^th- 100 back, 7^th- 50 free

Lauren Adam- 3^rd- 50 breast, 7^th- 100 breast

Cassey Mooney- 5^th- 200 breast, 6^th- 50 breast, 100 breast 

Amanda Greene- 5^th- 50 back 

Allison Somers- 7^th – 100 fly, 200 fly

Jessica LeBlanc- 6^th- 400 IM, 7^th – 200 IM, 8^th- 50 fly, 100 fly 

Kate Lantz- 8^th- 200 fly

Medley Relay- Am. Greene, C. Mooney, J. LeBlanc, C. LeBlanc- 4th

Scott Mills- 4^th- 200 back, 5^th- 100 back 

Taylor Dalke- 5^th- 200 fly, 8^th- 1500 free

Brandon Warren- 5^th- 1500 free, 7^th- 400 free