University of Bath swimmers were in outstanding form at the weekend, dominating the British Universities Short Course Championships to win the overall, men’s and women’s team titles. 

It was the first time in the 17-year history of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) swimming that Loughborough failed to win all of the team titles at a BUSA long or short course championships. And University of Bath swimmers left a trail of smashed records in their wake. 

“It was a fantastic weekend for University of Bath swimming,” said Head Coach Kim Swanwick. “Our swimmers produced some world-class performances and came away with a string national and BUSA records. 

“There were strong individual performances throughout the team,” he added. 

Ged Roddy, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “This is an outstanding achievement and I’d like to congratulate everyone who contributed to such a terrific set of results.” 

University of Bath swimmers Zoe Baker (top picture) and Janne Schaefer were placed first and second in the top women swimmer rankings, with team-mates Karen Lee (fifth), Te Rina Taite (sixth) and Sarah Paton (seventh) also placed in the top-10. 

Cameron Gibson (pictured right) finishing runner-up in the men’s rankings, with Richard Webb fourth, Dan Hester fifth, Guy Sherwin 10th and Andrei Cross 11th.  

Sports Performance student Zoe Baker was in outstanding form, winning both the 50m breaststroke and butterfly finals and helping the University of Bath women to victory in both relay finals.  

Baker set a New Zealand national record of 30.37 seconds to win the 50m breaststroke title, with Management student Schaefer second in 30.64 seconds.  

Baker completed an impressive individual double by winning the 50m butterfly final in 27.46 seconds, while Schaefer powered to victory in the 100m breaststroke, winning by more than two seconds in 1:07.10. Emma Knight (International Management with Modern Languages) came home fifth in 1:15.05.

Schaefer and Baker teamed up to help the University of Bath women’s 4×50m medley relay quartet win their final in 1:52.10 – more than seven seconds clear of Loughborough in second. Schaefer swam the breaststroke leg with Baker taking the butterfly. Karen Lee (Sports Performance) swam the backstroke leg with Te Rina Taite (Sports Performance) finishing strongly on the freestyle leg.
 
Taite, Cecilia Razeto (Modern Languages & European Studies), Baker and Schaefer were unbeatable in the 4×50m freestyle relay, taking gold ahead of Loughborough in 1:42.57.
 
Sports Performance student Sarah Paton (right) won the 1500m title by almost 25 seconds, touching in 16:41.16 and then won the 200m butterfly title in 2:13.46. She came second in the women’s 200m freestyle final in 2:00.80. Both freestyle results were Welsh records.
 
The University of Bath men made sure Bath swimmers completed a clean sweep of all of the relays. Cameron Gibson (Sports Performance), Guy Sherwin (Sports Performance), Dan Hester (Sports Performance) and Matt Tutty (Management) won the 4×50m freestyle relay in 1:29.46, while Stefano Razeto (Coach Education & Sports Development), Andrei Cross (Sports Performance), Dan Hester and Cameron Gibson beat Loughborough into second place in the 4×50m medley relay in 1:41.10.
 
Gibson’s time of 48.50 to win the in the 100m freestyle broke a New Zealand record that had stood for almost a decade, with team-mate Chris Cozens, a Sports Performance student, second in 50.41. Gibson also chipped in with a 50m freestyle national record of 22.14 in the first leg of the 4×50m freestyle heats.
 
Gibson also took the 100m backstroke title in 54.97. Economics and Finance student Kieran Locke set one of his two Virgin Isles records by finishing seventh in the final in 56.95. His other record came in the 200m backstroke final, in which he also finished seventh in 2:03.73, with Stefano Razeto one place ahead of him in 2:03.45.
 
Barbados swimmer Andrei Cross (right) set national records for the 50m and 100m breaststroke, winning the sprint in 28.13 and finishing third in the 100m in 1:02.05.  Simon Smith (Civil Engineering) from Bath came fourth over 50m in 28.86 seconds and was sixth in the 100m in 1:04.21.   Karen Lee completed a backstroke double, winning the 100m in 1:01.71 and the 200m in 2:10.29, while Te Rina Taite won the 50m freestyle in 25.33 seconds and then came second in the 100m freestyle final in 55.14.
 
 
Karen Lee and Cecilia Razeto came second and third respectively in the 50m backstroke final in 29.66 and 29.77 seconds. Razeto also finished third in the 100m butterfly in 1:02.87 and in the 200m individual medley in 2:21.25, when Katie Speller (Sport and Exercise Science) finished one place above her in 2:20.43. Speller also finished fourth in the 400m freestyle in 4:28.07 and in the 400m individual medley in 4:56.76.
 
Emma Knight came third in the 200m breatstroke in 2:37.47 and fourth in the 800m freestyle in 9:25.36.
 
There was a University of Bath one-two in the men’s 50m freestyle final, with Guy Sherwin taking gold in 22.38 and Matt Tutty taking silver in 22.95.
 
Dan Hester won the 200m freestyle in 1:47.52. Lee Forster finished just outside the medals in fourth in the 1500m in 16:05.35, with Pharmacology student Jamie Forrest finishing seventh in 16:20.37. Lee Forster took bronze in the 200m freestyle in 1:51.04. Stefano Razeto finished second in the 50m backstroke in 26.16 seconds and third in the 200m backstroke in 2:01.36. Team-mate Edward Castro, a Sports Performance student, was fifth in 2:02.56.
 
Chris Cozens came home second in the 50m butterfly in 24.98 and third in the 100m butterfly in 54.64. Dan Hester was joint third in the 25.05 over 50m and  Konstantinos Gkatzis (Molecular and Cellular Biology) fifth over 100m in 56.34.
 
Ed Castro touched second in the 800m in 8:13.91, with Forrest eighth in 8:37.43. Richard Webb (Sports Performance) was runner-up in the 200m breaststroke in 2:11.32, with Simon Smith eighth in 2:26.06. Webb also finished third in the 400m individual medley relay in 4:25.91, with Forrest ninth in 4:38.68.
 
Two University of Bath swimmers placed in the top eight in the men’s 400m freestyle – Lee Forster came fifth and Ed Castro came seventh.
 
Final team results:
Overall
First:  University of Bath – 384 points
Second: Loughborough 360 points
Third: Stirling – 232 points
 
Men
First: University of Bath – 191 points
Second: Loughborough – 184 points
Third:  Stirling – 172 points
 
Women
First: University of Bath – 193 points
Second: Loughborough – 176 points
Third: Manchester – 116 points
 
 
The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its TeamBath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.
 
 
Members of the media who require further information can contact the TeamBath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or see the TeamBath website at www.teambath.com

 
University of Bath swimmers were in outstanding form at the weekend, dominating the British Universities Short Course Championships to win the overall, men’s and women’s team titles.
 
It was the first time in the 17-year history of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) swimming that Loughborough failed to win all of the team titles at a BUSA long or short course championships.
 
And University of Bath swimmers left a trail of smashed records in their wake.
 
“It was a fantastic weekend for University of Bath swimming,” said Head Coach Kim Swanwick. “Our swimmers produced some world-class performances and came away with a string national and BUSA records.
 
“There were strong individual performances throughout the team,” he added.
 
Ged Roddy, Director of Sport at the University of Bath, said: “This is an outstanding achievement and I’d like to congratulate everyone who contributed to such a terrific set of results.”
 
University of Bath swimmers Zoe Baker and Janne Schaefer were placed first and second in the top women swimmer rankings, with team-mates Karen Lee (fifth), Te Rina Taite (sixth) and Sarah Paton (seventh) also placed in the top-10.
 
Cameron Gibson finishing runner-up in the men’s rankings, with Richard Webb fourth, Dan Hester fifth, Guy Sherwin 10th and Andrei Cross 11th.
 
Sports Performance student Zoe Baker was in outstanding form, winning both the 50m breaststroke and butterfly finals and helping the University of Bath women to victory in both relay finals.
 
Baker set a New Zealand national record of 30.37 seconds to win the 50m breaststroke title, with Management student Schaefer second in 30.64 seconds.
 
Baker completed an impressive individual double by winning the 50m butterfly final in 27.46 seconds, while Schaefer powered to victory in the 100m breaststroke, winning by more than two seconds in 1:07.10. Emma Knight (International Management with Modern Languages) came home fifth in 1:15.05.
 
Schaefer and Baker teamed up to help the University of Bath women’s 4×50m medley relay quartet win their final in 1:52.10 – more than seven seconds clear of Loughborough in second. Schaefer swam the breaststroke leg with Baker taking the butterfly. Karen Lee (Sports Performance) swam the backstroke leg with Te Rina Taite (Sports Performance) finishing strongly on the freestyle leg.
 
Taite, Cecilia Razeto (Modern Languages & European Studies), Baker and Schaefer were unbeatable in the 4×50m freestyle relay, taking gold ahead of Loughborough in 1:42.57.
 
Sports Performance student Sarah Paton won the 1500m title by almost 25 seconds, touching in 16:41.16 and then won the 200m butterfly title in 2:13.46. She came second in the women’s 200m freestyle final in 2:00.80. Both freestyle results were Welsh records.
 
The University of Bath men made sure Bath swimmers completed a clean sweep of all of the relays. Cameron Gibson (Sports Performance), Guy Sherwin (Sports Performance), Dan Hester (Sports Performance) and Matt Tutty (Management) won the 4×50m freestyle relay in 1:29.46, while Stefano Razeto (Coach Education & Sports Development), Andrei Cross (Sports Performance), Dan Hester and Cameron Gibson beat Loughborough into second place in the 4×50m medley relay in 1:41.10.
 
Gibson’s time of 48.50 to win the in the 100m freestyle broke a New Zealand record that had stood for almost a decade, with team-mate Chris Cozens, a Sports Performance student, second in 50.41. Gibson also chipped in with a 50m freestyle national record of 22.14 in the first leg of the 4×50m freestyle heats.
 
Gibson also took the 100m backstroke title in 54.97. Economics and Finance student Kieran Locke set one of his two Virgin Isles records by finishing seventh in the final in 56.95. His other record came in the 200m backstroke final, in which he also finished seventh in 2:03.73, with Stefano Razeto one place ahead of him in 2:03.45.
 
Barbados swimmer Andrei Cross set national records for the 50m and 100m breaststroke, winning the sprint in 28.13 and finishing third in the 100m in 1:02.05.  Simon Smith (Civil Engineering) from Bath came fourth over 50m in 28.86 seconds and was sixth in the 100m in 1:04.21.
 
Karen Lee completed a backstroke double, winning the 100m in 1:01.71 and the 200m in 2:10.29, while Te Rina Taite won the 50m freestyle in 25.33 seconds and then came second in the 100m freestyle final in 55.14.
 
 
Karen Lee and Cecilia Razeto came second and third respectively in the 50m backstroke final in 29.66 and 29.77 seconds. Razeto also finished third in the 100m butterfly in 1:02.87 and in the 200m individual medley in 2:21.25, when Katie Speller (Sport and Exercise Science) finished one place above her in 2:20.43. Speller also finished fourth in the 400m freestyle in 4:28.07 and in the 400m individual medley in 4:56.76.
 
Emma Knight came third in the 200m breatstroke in 2:37.47 and fourth in the 800m freestyle in 9:25.36.
 
There was a University of Bath one-two in the men’s 50m freestyle final, with Guy Sherwin taking gold in 22.38 and Matt Tutty taking silver in 22.95.
 
Dan Hester won the 200m freestyle in 1:47.52. Lee Forster finished just outside the medals in fourth in the 1500m in 16:05.35, with Pharmacology student Jamie Forrest finishing seventh in 16:20.37. Lee Forster took bronze in the 200m freestyle in 1:51.04. Stefano Razeto finished second in the 50m backstroke in 26.16 seconds and third in the 200m backstroke in 2:01.36. Team-mate Edward Castro, a Sports Performance student, was fifth in 2:02.56.
 
Chris Cozens came home second in the 50m butterfly in 24.98 and third in the 100m butterfly in 54.64. Dan Hester was joint third in the 25.05 over 50m and  Konstantinos Gkatzis (Molecular and Cellular Biology) fifth over 100m in 56.34.
 
Ed Castro touched second in the 800m in 8:13.91, with Forrest eighth in 8:37.43. Richard Webb (Sports Performance) was runner-up in the 200m breaststroke in 2:11.32, with Simon Smith eighth in 2:26.06. Webb also finished third in the 400m individual medley relay in 4:25.91, with Forrest ninth in 4:38.68.
 
Two University of Bath swimmers placed in the top eight in the men’s 400m freestyle – Lee Forster came fifth and Ed Castro came seventh.
 
Final team results:
Overall
First:  University of Bath – 384 points
Second: Loughborough 360 points
Third: Stirling – 232 points
 
Men
First: University of Bath – 191 points
Second: Loughborough – 184 points
Third:  Stirling – 172 points
 
Women
First: University of Bath – 193 points
Second: Loughborough – 176 points
Third: Manchester – 116 points
 
 
The University of Bath has one of the leading university sports departments in the UK. Under its TeamBath brand, its success is based on the expertise and dedication of staff, and its excellent facilities, used by the community and Olympic medal winners alike.
 
 
Members of the media who require further information can contact the TeamBath Press Office at Matchtight Ltd on (01225) 383518 or see the TeamBath website at www.teambath.com

Posted: Monday 19th November 2007