Top honour for LaSalle swimmer Masse
For the second time in three years, LaSalle’s Kylie Masse has been named Ontario University Athletics’ female athlete of the year. The 22-year-old Masse, who swims for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, had another dominating season in her fourth season with the program. “It’s always an honour to receive recognition and an awards like this,” Masse said on Tuesday. A Canadian Olympic bronze medallist, Masse captured the 100-metre backstroke in a worldrecord time at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest, becoming Canada’s first female swimmer to win a world title. Beyond that, Masse also helped Canada to a bronze-medal finish in the 4x100metre mixed medley relay. Back at school, she won four individual gold medals and a pair of relay gold at the 2017-18 OUA Swimming Championships in February. Masse captured the 50- and 100-metre backstroke, the 50-metre freestyle, and the 100-metre butterfly, to go along with gold medals in the 200-metre freestyle and 200-metre medley relays. Along with the medals, Masse broke five OUA records in the process, helping to lead Toronto to a fifth-straight provincial banner.
For her record-setting efforts, Masse, a Windsor Essex Swim Team product, was named the OUA Female Swimmer of the Year for the fourth straight season and captured U Sports Female Athlete of the Month honours for February. At the national championships, which Toronto hosted, the firstteam all-Canadian swept the backstroke events with wins in the 50 metres, 100 metres and 200 metres, while also taking home the 100-metre butterfly crown. She won all four events in U Sports record times and helped Toronto’s 200-metre freestyle relay win the gold medal and the 200-metre medley relay take the silver medal. Masse also helped the Varsity Blues to a team silver medal finish at the U Sports Championship. Those efforts helped her secure U Sports Female Swimmer of the Year for the third-straight season. “I send a lot of the medals home to LaSalle because I just don’t have room for them here in Toronto,” said Masse.
Shortly after wrapping up her school season, Masse competed at the Commonwealth Games in Australia. She set a new Commonwealth Games records in winning the 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre backstroke along with silver medals in the 50-metre backstroke and 4x100-metre relay.
Masse will compete in California next month before heading to Edmonton in July for the Pan Pacific Trials in hopes of landing a spot on the Canadian team for the Pan Pacific Championships, which will be held in Japan in August.