Swimmer Charli LeBlanc has been named the latest Memorial University athlete of the week after her weekend performance at the Kemp-Fry Invitational meet in Halifax helped make Memorial’s female swim team the first Sea-Hawks entry to make it to a U Sports national Top 10 ranking this season.
LeBlanc, a fourth year arts student from Yarmouth, N.S., collected four individual medals, including three gold, and was part of three Memorial podium finishes in team relay events at the Dalhousie-hosted meets. She also had four individual times that qualify for her for the U Sports national championships
LeBlanc’s gold medals came in the 50- and 100-metre backstroke and 50 freestyle, while she had an individual silver in the 100 free. Her national qualifying times came in those four events.
She was also part of Sea-Hawks teams that claimed silver in the 400 medley, along with bronze medals in the 400 and 800 freestyle relays.
Another member of those MUN relay teams was Jasmine Foran, who also won individual gold in the three breaststroke events over 50, 100 and 200 metres, posting national qualifying times in all of them.
Altogether, the Memorial women’s team had 12 medal finishes, a showing that certainly contributed to in being ranked 10th in the nation in the latest U Sports voting. A number of Sea-Hawks varsity teams have earned honourable mentions in weekly rankings so far this fall, but this is the first time a Memorial squad has made it to the Top 10 this season.
Earning U Sports honourable mentions this week were Sea-Hawks men’s wrestling and swimming teams.
The Memorial male athlete of the week is basketball player Nathan Barker.
Barker, a second-year nursing student from Massey Drive on the province’s west coast, averaged 26.5 points and five rebounds in two weekend home games against the St. Francis Xavier X-Men, including a 30-point performance Sunday, which helped the Sea-Hawk men to their first win of the season.
