VANCOUVER – Two University of Victoria Vikes swimmers set the CIS standard and both short-staffed UVic Vikes teams are in third place after the opening day of the Canada West swimming championships at the UBC Aquatic Centre on Friday Jan. 28.

Vikes head coach Peter Viszolyi said he was pleased with the opening day's results, with the men in third place with 142 points just five behind the Calgary Dinos which have 147. The UVic women are also in third place with 123 points well behind first-place Calgary (269) and second-place UBC (183).

“I look at the meet as a chance for all the kids in the conference to get together and have an enjoyable experience,” Viszolyi said. “For the most part, they're working toward CIS championships.”

Viszolyi said he was pleased with two Vikes swimmers who made CIS times in Ian Brown and Kim Bryan in their 50-metre events.

Brown swam a time of 29.78 in the men's 50-metre breaststroke while Bryan swam a time of 30.83 in the women's 50-metre backstroke.

“We're not as concerned with points at this meet,” Viszolyi said. “We don't have our full team here. We have three kids who could score but are not at the meet in our distance swims. So it's a chance to get together as a team and work toward the CIS event.”

Vikes distance swimmer Craig Dagnall swam a time of 15:33.76 in the opening heat of the men's 1500-metre race, but Calgary's David Dimitroff swam a time of 15:18.83 to shatter a 21-year-old record, to win the distance, beating the time of 15:21.09 set by Mike Meldrum in 1990.

It was one of two records set on the day with Dinos Seanna Mitchell setting the other in the women's 50-metre butterfly in a time of 27.83, beating the old record of 27.98 set in 2006.

What makes Dimitroff's record even more special is the fact it's not even an event he's known to do well in.

“Mainly I just wanted to see how I swam. I haven't swam the mile in a long time,” Dimitroff said. “I was not going for a particular time, I was just seeing how I could do. We weren't sure on me swimming the mile at all this race. It's really big for us to get points early on.”

Due to illness, the Dinos only have 13 male swimmers at the meet.

“We're really lacking this year, it's just the way it is,” Dimitroff said. “Because we're so low on guys, every point counts.”

Dimitroff said he was spurred on by the support of his parents Elena and Emil who drove in from Kelowna to see him race.

“They used to coach me when I was a kid,” Dimitroff said. “It was nice to have them here and have their support.”

Calgary Dinos Head Coach Mike Blondal said he was pleased with the two records.

“We did pretty well today, I was pleased with the Canada West records we set,” Blondal said. “Especially with Dimitroff. It was a great swim. We had a tough decision to make to put him in the 1500-metre. He kept calm and did very well.”

The event continues on Saturday Jan. 29 and Sunday Jan. 30.
LIVE STATS / LIVE VIDEO OF FINAL HEATS

NOTE: This is the first year that 50-metre races are counting for team points at the Canada West championships, and it is expected the short-distance points will make the race for the team title even tigther.

Men - Team Rankings after Day 1
1. UBC Thunderbirds 227
2. Calgary Dinos 147
3. UVic Vikes 142
4. Alberta Pandas 138
5. Lethbridge Pronghorns 99
6. Manitoba Bisons 57

Women - Team Rankings after Day 1
1. Calgary Dinos 269
2. UBC Thunderbirds 183
3. UVic Vikes 125
4. Alberta Pandas 91
5. Lethbridge Pronghorns 81   
6. Manitoba Bisons 42
7. Regina Cougars 15