Friday the 13th is rarely associated with good luck, but that is exactly what the men’s and women’s swim teams hope to encounter this weekend as they compete in the provincial championships in Ottawa. Then again, luck may have very little to do with it. “The University of Toronto is used to winning,” claims head coach Byron MacDonald, “when we don’t win, it’s a real upset.”

Although the U of T swim teams’ historical records are good-the men won every year between 1960 and 1992 and finished second in the province last year, and the women are currently enjoying a four-year winning streak-we may not be able to expect that sort of success this year.

The way things look now, the women are heavy favourites this weekend. They are not only ranked first in the province, they also have nearly double the points of their closest competitor-McMaster.

The star of the women’s team this year is Jennifer Porenta, a rookie recruit who is strongly favoured to win all of her upcoming events. However, Porenta will be going into the competition tired as she will be flying in to Ottawa (and missing the first day of competition) after competing at the U.S. National Championships where she may race with the Canadian relay team that hopes to qualify for the Olympics this summer.

On the men’s side, the picture isn’t quite so peachy. Although they are also currently ranked first in the province, their lead is not nearly so comfortable as the women’s. They face tough competition from last year’s champion McMaster, the championship’s host, and from up-and-coming University of Western Ontario. Moreover, they do not have a safe-bet star like Porenta on the team. Last year, Ian MacLeod won his event as a rookie, but this year he faces tougher competition. It may come from those close to home, like teammate Nick Dargus, whose champion title MacLeod stole last year.

Nevertheless, both the men and women have serious hopes of winning gold this weekend. That’ll mean a five-year repeat for the women and the capture of the title that the men just barely lost in 2003.