LONDON, Ont. - The 2009-10 varsity swimming season has shown nothing short of success for the Mustangs swimmers right from the first dual meet this season.

Western’s varsity swimmers started out the season with a bang in the first set of dual meets this season. Five Mustangs (Brittany Cooper (London, ON), Heather Martin (Etobicoke, ON), Bryn Jones (Newmarket, ON), Trevor Nicholas (Brampton, ON) and Julien Sauvage (Bedarrides, FR)) each brought home dual gold medals.

The Ontario Cup held on Jan. 16 and 17, was yet another success for the Western Mustangs swim team. Team rookies Kaleigh Heard (Pickering, ON), Ashleigh Dunnington (Prescott, ON) and Alexandra Cooper (London, ON) showed Mustangs coaches and teammates what they were made of as they each earned themselves seasonal bests.

The highlight of the season, by far, were the OUA Championships held Feb. 4-7 in St. Catharines, Ont. On Day one alone, seven medals were won (three gold, two silver, two bronze). By day three, the Mustangs were topping the chart bringing home a total of 10 medals, five of which were gold.

Top performers at the OUA Championships were rookie, Julien Suavuage placing first in the 1500m freestyle, Hayley Nell (London, ON) with a gold in the 200m freestyle and Bryn Jones with a third gold in the 100m breaststroke.

By the end of the OUA championships, Western Mustangs Women took home their second consecutive OUA Championship title with the men claiming second. Hayley Nell, with an outstanding five medals earned at the OUA’s, brought home her third successive OUA female swimmer of the meet award.

CIS Nationals held at the University of Toronto also proved to be a milestone for the Mustangs swimmers. Never before in history had the men’s and women’s team both placed in the Top 10 at a national meet, however this year proved to be different. The women fought hard to bring home a fourth place and the men battled it out for sixth.