The Wingate University women’s swimming team picked up two convincing victories Saturday, sweeping a double dual meet over Washington and Lee University and Marymount University at the Cy Twombly Memorial Pool on the W&L campus. The Bulldogs defeated the host Generals 160-101 and topped Marymount 206-54. The Wingate women are 4-3 overall on the season (3-1 BGMC).
The Wingate men lost a heartbreaking 133-129 decision to the W&L Generals. The Bulldogs defeated the Marymount Saints 218-41. The Wingate men are 6-1 overall this season (3-1 BGMC). Both Bulldog teams travel to Emory (Ga.) University Saturday, Jan. 19 for a 1 p.m. meet.
Wingate women 160, Washington and Lee 101
Wingate women 206, Marymount (Va.) 54
On the afternoon, Wingate won nine of the 14 events. Bulldog senior Maria Vlashchenko (Khabarovsk, Russia) and sophomore Lara Golesorkhi (Stuttgart, Germany) both participated in the four victories on the day.
Vlashchenko and Golesorkhi started the event by teaming with senior Rebekah Moody (Grovetown, Ga.) and freshman Nicole Moody (Grovetown, Ga.) to take the checkered flag in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:52.76.
Vlashchenko won three individual events: the 100 Breaststroke (1:06.76), the 200 Breaststroke (2:24.61) and the 200 Individual Medley (2:11.24). Golesorkhi matched her teammate with three individual victories: the 50 Freestyle (25.77), the 100 Freestyle (55.86) and the 100 Butterfly (1:01.24).
Rebekah Moody also tallied an individual win, touching first in the 200 Butterfly. The 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® selection recorded a time of 2:17.31 Saturday. Vlashchenko, Golesorkhi and Rebekah Moody are returning NCAA Division II All-Americans for the Bulldogs.
Nicole Moody matched her sister Rebekah with two victories. In addition to her triumph in the 200 Medley Relay, Nicole Moody was a member of Wingate’s victorious 400 Freestyle Relay team (3:49.40). Joining Nicole Moody on the winning quartet were sophomore Samantha Vencl (Wickliffe, Ohio) and freshmen Cheryl Vaccaro (Charlotte, N.C.) and Henni Coetzer (Indian Trail, N.C.).
Washington and Lee men 133, Wingate 129
Wingate men 218, Marymount (Va.) 41
Wingate sophomore Gus Chagas (Recife, Brazil) won four events and two teammates took three victories each, but the Bulldogs did not have enough team points to outrank the host Generals. The Wingate men matched the Bulldog women with victories in nine events Saturday.
Chagas started his four-victory day by teaming with senior Sergey Vlashchenko (Habarovsk, Russia) and sophomores Scott Stephens (Columbia, S.C.) and Mason Norman (Duluth, Ga.) to win the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:37.52.
The 2007 NCAA Division II national champion in the 200 Freestyle, Chagas won three individual events: the 200 Freestyle (1:41.89), the 200 Butterfly (1:57.28) and the 200 Backstroke (1:57.62). Vlashchenko picked up individual victories in the 100 Breaststroke (1:00.55) and the 200 Breaststroke (2:14.38).
Bulldog sophomore Kyle Corcoran (Kent, Wash.) had a huge day, taking three individual wins. Corcoran was Wingate’s marathon man, touching first in the 1000 Freestyle (9:57.70) and the 500 Freestyle (4:41.62). In addition, Corcoran won the 200 Individual Medley (1:55.67).
Both the Bulldogs and the Generals are members of the Blue Grass Mountain Conference. Wingate will see Washington and Lee again this season, as the two teams will battle in the 2008 BGMC championships, hosted by the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MAC) in downtown Charlotte Feb. 13-16.
