Wingate Sweeps Catawba, Rollins, Washington & Lee

The Wingate University men’s and women’s swimming teams made a huge early-season statement Friday and Saturday, sweeping a quad meet with three Blue Grass Mountain Conference foes at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte. Wingate defeated Catawba, Rollins and Washington and Lee on both the men’s and women’s charts.
          
The Wingate men won 15 of the 17 contested events. The Bulldogs were led by senior s Kyle Corcoran (Kent, Wash.) and Mason Norman (Duluth, Ga.), who won three individual events each. Corcoran claimed first place in the 200 Individual Medley (1:55.74), 1000 Freestyle (9:52.07) and 400 Individual Medley (4:08.76).
 
Norman won his signature events as well, taking the checkered flag in the 100 Breaststroke (58.34), the 100 Freestyle (46.31) and the 50 Freestyle (21.33). Norman was a member of three winning relay teams to complete a six-victory day for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® candidate.
 
Wingate sophomore Lee Sousa (Charlotte, N.C.) won two individual events in his hometown pool. Sousa was also a big factor as Bulldogs piled up four relay victories. Wingate is not a three-man band. In addition to the victories from Corcoran, Norman and Sousa, three Bulldogs won one individual event each.
 
The Wingate women would not be outdone by their male counterparts, as the Bulldogs utilized their depth to take three victories over Catawba, Rollins and W&L. Wingate sophomore Malin Kersmark (Malin-Bjarred, Sweden) got things started for the Bulldogs with a victory in the 200 Backstroke. Her winning time was 2:10.17.
 
Five Bulldog women won individual races. Wingate also touched first in two relay events to give the Bulldogs seven total victories in 17 events. Junior Cheryl Vaccaro (Charlotte, N.C.) continues to build on her 2009 All-American performances. She won the 100 Freestyle Saturday with a time of 54.62.
 
A good indicator of Wingate’s depth was the 1000 Freestyle, won by freshman Paige Schmidt (Clearwater, Fla.) with a time of 10:44.09. The Bulldogs took three of the top four spots in the endurance test, gaining valuable points for the sweep.
 
Wingate will continue to navigate through its toughest schedule in history next Saturday (Nov. 14), traveling down Interstate 85 to face Limestone College. The first event at the Timken Aquatic Center is slated for 2 p.m.