Lucas Punkari
The competitive season for the Fort Frances Aquanauts is coming to an end this weekend as members will be heading to the 39th-annual May International Invitational in Thunder Bay.
“It should be a lot of fun,” enthused Aquanauts’ head coach Dawnn Taylor.
“It’s the final meet of the season for the majority of the swimmers, so everyone’s going to be giving whatever they have left,” she stressed.
While the full psych sheets were not released as of yesterday, Taylor is looking forward to seeing how her swimmers will match up against competitors from the U.S., with at least four teams coming up from south of the border.
“I love it when they come up because you get to compete against an all new set of athletes,” she noted.
“It’s great to compete against guys and girls that you do know, but going up against the unknown is always exciting,” she reasoned.
Thirteen swimmers will be representing the Aquanauts at the meet. One notable absence will be Adam Stromberg, who is using this weekend to get some rest before gearing up once again for the fall season.
As well, Donovan Taylor was scratched from his scheduled 400m I.M. race Friday night so he wouldn’t be completely burned out after his performance in Halifax last weekend and is fully fresh for his events Saturday and Sunday.
However, a couple of swimmers will be making their return to the water this weekend after lengthy absences.
“Anika Beaudry is back in the pool again after taking part in hockey this winter, and taking part in that, I think, should really help her out in the water,” Taylor said.
“Also, Mitchell Riordon is returning from a wrist injury he suffered, so it should be interesting to see how he does.”
Overall, however, Taylor is excited to see how her swimmers do in their final meet of the season, especially those who will be taking part in long-course events [i.e., 50-metre pool] for the first time.
“Everyone’s getting really jacked up for it,” she remarked
“Lyndsi [Jo Wilson] will be in her first long-course 400m I.M. on Friday night, and Levi [Rittau] will also be in the 400m I.M. that night, as well, so that should be very exciting to watch,” Taylor enthused.
