Rooney and Shortt named Acadia athletes of the week

Swimmers Sophie Rooney and Gordon Shortt have been named Acadia athletes of the week for the period ending February 25.

Rooney, a second-year business student, won five gold and two silver medals at the AUS swimming championship over the weekend. Her first-place finishes came in the 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 200m backstroke and 400m medley relay (Ella Collins, Sara Bennett, Emma Hamlyn, Rooney). Silver medal finishes came in the 400m (Hamlyn, Bennett, Grace Earle, Rooney) and 800m freestyle (Natalie Stokes, Bennett, Earle, Rooney) relays. Her success also helped the Axewomen finish second in the team standings.

Shortt, a fourth-year business administration major, had two gold, three silver and one bronze medal finish over the weekend. His gold medal performances came individually in the 200m IM and 50m breaststroke events. He finished second in the 100m breaststroke, alongside team wins in the 400m medley (Benjamin Henger, Shortt, Bo Stokesbury-Price, Marcus Vaillancourt) and 800m freestyle relays (Nate Thompson, Shortt, Stokesbury-Price, David Harvie). Shortt’s bronze medal was in the 400m freestyle relay (Thompson, Shortt, Stokesbury-Price, Harvie). The Axemen finished second overall in the team standings.

Rooney and Shortt have both qualified for the U SPORTS championship hosted by McGill University in March alongside Stokesbury-Price, Thompson, Harvie, Lucas Mazier, Vaillancourt, Bennett, Hamlyn and Collins.

The Acadia athletes of the week are presented by McDonald's.