Wingate, Emory Split

The number 11 Wingate University men defeated number two Emory (Ga.) University 131-90 Saturday afternoon at the Wingate University natatorium. The number one Eagle women earned a 127-99 decision over the number 15 Bulldogs. Wingate celebrated Senior Day Saturday, honoring 10 seniors during the afternoon’s first break.

The meet concludes the dual meet season for the host Bulldogs. Wingate will host the Blue Grass Mountain Conference championship meet Feb. 16-19 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte.

 

#11 Wingate men 131, #2 Emory 90

 

Wingate freshman Marko Blazevski (Skopje, Macedonia) established two pool records to lead the Bulldogs Saturday. Wingate avenges a narrow loss to Emory in Atlanta last January.

 

Blazevski won the 1000 Freestyle (9:35.85) and the 500 Freestyle (4:39.41) in pool record times. The 1000 Freestyle time was 11 seconds better than the previous pool record. Blazevski led a one-two-three finish for the Bulldogs in the 500 Freestyle. Freshman Iaroslav Denysenko (Poltava, Ukraine) was second (4:42.57), while sophomore Cole Dutton (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) was third (4:49.21).

 

Denysenko earned one gold medal and two silver medals Saturday. The Bulldog newcomer won the 200 Freestyle with a pool-record time of 1:41.03. He finished second in the 500 Freestyle and the 100 Freestyle (47.81).

 

Bulldog sophomore Spencer Waganaar (Satellite Beach, Fla.) won the 100 Freestyle with a time of 47.28. He was part of Wingate’s first one-two-three sweep of the day, as he finished third in the 200 Individual Medley (1:56.89). Freshman Tim Kniffler (Mulheim, Germany) won the 200 IM (1:54.96), while senior Marcelo Machado (Recife, Brazil) was second (1:56.82). Kniffler posted a second-place finish in the 100 Backstroke (52.38).

 

Both freshman Liubomyr Lemeshko (Poltava, Ukraine) and sophomore Rory Julyan (Cape Town, South Africa) recorded one first and one second-place finish each. Lemeshko won the 100 Butterfly (50.94) and finished second in the 200 Freestyle (1:44.43). Julyan touched first in the 100 Breaststroke (58.97) and placed second in the 50 Freestyle (21.72).

 

Wingate senior Dwight Richardson (Newport News, Va.) made his last regular season home meet a memorable one, winning the 50 Freestyle in a time of 21.69. Richardson opened the day by joining Julyan, Lemeshko and junior Lee Sousa (Cornelius, N.C.) to take first place in the 200 Medley Relay with a 1:35.24 pool record time.

 

#1 Emory women 127, #15 Wingate 99

The number one team in the NCAA Division III, Emory lost only two races Saturday. Wingate freshman diver Lindsey Taylor (Charlotte, N.C.) continued her solid season, winning the one-meter diving competition.

 

Taylor defeated Emory freshman Sarah Greene (Durham, N.C.) 239.93 to 209.70 in the first round. A provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division II national championships, Taylor prevailed 169.05 to 159.83 in the second round.

           

Wingate freshman Beatrice Svensson (Lomma, Sweden) led the one-two-three Bulldog sweep of the 100 Breaststroke. Svensson touched first with a time of 1:09.67. Classmate Alexandra Andrechuk (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) was second (1:11.09), while junior Brittany Pales (Moon Township, Pa.) was third (1:15.79). Svensson was also second in the 200 Freestyle (1:58.75).

 

The Bulldogs finished the day on a high note, winning the 200 Freestyle Relay with a time of 1:42.18. The victorious quartet included seniors Cheryl Vaccaro (Charlotte, N.C.) and Nicole Moody (Grovetown, Ga.), junior Malin Kersmark (Malin-Bjarred, Sweden) and freshman Amanda Gilbert (Metairie, La.).

 

Freshman Valerie Dembny (Bremen, Germany) earned two silver medals. She finished second in the 200 Individual Medley (2:12.67) and the 100 Butterfly (1:01.46). Vaccaro was second in the 100 Freestyle (55.02), while Kersmark was second in the 100 Backstroke (1:01.37). Sophomore Paige Schmidt (Clearwater, Fla.) earned a second-place finish in the 500 Freestyle (5:17.13).