Division II got a shot in the arm today with the announcement that Wingate University will add men’s swimming to its slate of sports offerings beginning in the fall of 2005.

With the addition of men’s swimming, Wingate University will field 17 NCAA teams while Division II men's swimming will expand to 48 teams. Wingate women’s swimming coach Kirk Sanocki will coach both teams.

In February, the Wingate womenwon the 2004 Blue Grass Mountain Conference (BGMC) Championships. The title was the Wingate’s first-ever conference crown in women’s swimming.

Wingate’s rise to the BGMC title capped a three-year journey for Sanocki and his charges. The Bulldogs joined the BGMC in 2002 finishing third. The Wingate men will compete in the BGMC championships for the first time in February of 2006.

Sanocki believes athletic and academic success walk hand-in-hand. During the spring 2004 semester, the Wingate University women’s swimming team compiled a 3.362 team GPA earning CSCAA Academic All-American status.

For the spring 2004 semester, the Bulldogs tied for 11th place on the NCAA Division II GPA charts. Twelve of Wingate’s 19 student-athletes have a cumulative GPA above 3.200. Wingate University has earned the Academic All-American Team Award six semesters in a row.

Sanocki believes the addition of men’s swimming will be a benefit for the women’s program. “I believe it will make the women’s program stronger,” Sanocki said. “Male and female swimmers train together. Men and women have benefited from training together.”

Wingate fans will notice much continuity between the two programs. “I want to have two programs that are well respected in the swimming world and here on the campus,” Sanocki said.