Dublin University Swimming Club (DUSC) made the short trip across town to University College Dublin (UCD) at the weekend to compete in the 2018 swimming intervarsities. With 28 events and over 300 athletes, competition was stiff, and so it proved for Trinity’s 16 competing swimmers, some of whom nonetheless claimed silverware.
Most successful for DUSC was Aisling Haughey, who stormed to victory in the 100-metre and 200-metre breaststroke, registering scores of 1.08 and 2.35 respectively.
The hosts were the overall winners of the event, which started with a warmup on Friday evening, claiming wins in the women’s and men’s categories.
For Trinity, competing against Ulster University, the University of Limerick, NUI Galway, Dublin Insititute of Technology, Dublin City University, Queen’s University Belfast, University College Cork, IT Sligo and NUI Maynooth, there was considerable pride in the fact that several athletes made the final, complementing Haughey’s success with a third-place finish in the cannon relay and fourth place in the women’s four-by-50-metre free relay. Laura Fallon was also close to victory, finishing second in the 50-metre butterfly.
Catriona Finlay, Matthew Long, Finn MacGearailt, Mia Ivankovic, Laura Grindle, Alex Jackson, Griffen Hansen and Rosie Giglia all made the finals across a number of categories, with Giglia finishing fourth in the 200-metre freestyle.
Speaking to The University Times by email after the event, ladies captain Niamh Young said it was a “fantastic” weekend for the club. “Coming third in the mixed cannon relay was a real highlight and we hope to build on this great success next year”, she stated.
For DUSC’s ladies water polo side, this weekend offered no such success, as they fell at the hands of St Vincent’s. The team currently sit second in Division 1 of the National League, ahead of an important home encounter with Clontarf tomorrow evening.
