The number six Wingate University women's swimming team made a big move Saturday, taking first place in the 2014 Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte. The number five Wingate men are second in a tight race with number three Queens University of Charlotte.
The Wingate women have 976.5 points. Queens is second with 872.5 points, while Johns Hopkins (Md.) University is third with 851.5 points. The Queens Royals top the men's team charts with 978.5; Wingate is second with 951.5 points. NCAA Division III front-runner Johns Hopkins is third with 647.5 points. Fourteen men's teams and 14 women's teams are competing in this year's event.
WINGATE WOMEN'S SWIMMING
Wingate freshman Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.) put her name in the BMC history books, touching first in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:03.30. Redshirt freshman teammate Olga Kosheleva (Yekaterinburg, Russia) was a close second (1:03.76), while senior Charlotte Cornet (Brussels, Belgium) was fourth (1:05.90).
Bulldog freshman Sofia Petrenko (Arkhangelsk, Russia) claimed the silver medal in the 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:50.09. Senior teammates Katie Pheil (Ocala, Fla.) and Cornet (Brussels, Belgium) were tied for third (1:50.28) and eighth (1:57.25), respectively, in the 200 Free.
Pheil collected three bronze medals Saturday. She led a 3-5-6 charge in the 100 Backstroke with her time of 56.19. Sophomore Rita Koryukova (Omsk, Russia) was fifth (56.72), while freshman Vika Arkhipova (Seversk, Russia) was sixth (57.40). Pheil joined Petrenko, sophomore Ana Fish (Carthage, N.C.) and junior Kellie Gervas (Imperial, Pa.) for a third-place showing in the 800 Freestyle Relay (7:30.16).
Wingate senior Valerie Dembny (Bremen, Germany) was third in the 100 Butterfly (56.06), while junior Jasmine Arzadon (Lorton, Va.) was seventh (57.14). Gervas was fourth in the 400 Individual Medley (4:29.10) with senior Alex Andrechuk (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) recording a seventh-place performance in the same event (4:35.55).
In the evening's first event, Wingate finished third in the 200 Medley Relay (1:44.20). Koryukova, Cornet, Arzadon and Fish represented the Bulldogs on this bronze medal-winning quartet.
WINGATE MEN'S SWIMMING
Wingate senior Marko Blazevski (Skopje, Macedonia) won the 400 Individual Medley for the third time in his illustrious career, setting a meet record with a triumphant time of 3:55.39. Interestingly enough, the previous meet record was established exactly six years ago by Wingate All-American Kyle Corcoran (Kent, Wash.) with his time of 3:56.21 (Feb. 15, 2008).
A two-time NCAA Division II national champion in the 400 IM, Blazevski holds the BMC record with his 3:52.29 at the 2011 NCAA national championship meet (March 10, 2011). On Saturday, freshman Øystein Fjeldberg (Oslo, Norway) was third (3:59.64) and defending BMC 400 IM champion and WU sophomore Ossian Arvidsson (Kungälv, Sweden) was seventh (4:06.39).
Wingate freshman Leif-Henning Klüver (Risum-Lindholm, Germany) gave Bulldog fans a glimpse of the future Saturday, out-touching sophomore teammate Dylon Johnson (Fletcher, N.C.) to win the 200 Freestyle. Klüver posted a time of 1:38.34, while Johnson clocked a silver-medal 1:38.47. Johnson was fifth in the 2013 BMC 200 Freestyle event.
Bulldog sophomores Roman Kanyuka (Moscow, Russia) and Damian Smalls (Charlotte, N.C.) were second (54.49) and third (54.91), respectively, in the 100 Breaststroke. WU junior David Collum (DeLand, Fla.) was seventh (55.61) in the same event.
Freshman Evan Kolovich (New Market, Md.) claimed a bronze medal in the 100 Butterfly (49.34). Senior Will Meagher (Eagan, Minn.) tied for seventh in the 100 Fly (49.97), while sophomore Niklas Andersson (Viken, Sweden) won the "B" final with his time of 49.98.
Wingate senior Tim Kniffler (Mulheim, Germany) prepared for Sunday's 200 Backstroke (he is the defending champion) by placing third in the 100 Backstroke Saturday (49.63). WU juniors Issam Zeraidi (Brussels, Belgium) and Samuel Knapp (Mobile, Ala.) were fifth (50.41) and seventh (50.80), respectively.
In the Saturday relays, Wingate finished second both events. In the 200 Medley Relay, senior Reed Miller (Mobile, Ala.), Kanyuka, Meagher and Issam Zeraidi recorded a time of 1:29.93. In the 800 Freestyle Relay, Blazevski, Klüver, Kolovich and Johnson posted a time of 6:37.49.
Johns Hopkins Men
The Johns Hopkins men's swim team grabbed 325.5 points on the second day of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship Saturday to remain in third place. Queens University remains in first place with 978.5 total points, while host Wingate is in second with 951.5 points. Hopkins remains in third place with at two-day total of 647.5 points.
Hopkins opened the night with a fifth place finish in the 200 Medley Relay. Freshman Evan Holder and seniors Joe Acquaviva, David Woodford and Anthony Lordi swam an NCAA provisional time of 1:32.31. Junior Ryan Cunningham then placed eighth in the 400 IM with a provisional time of 4:07.38. Freshman Muhammad Hudhud won the B Final, clocking in with a provisional time of 4:02.16. Freshman Josh Hughes took third place, 11th overall, finishing in 4:05.18 while sophomore Billy Gravley took fourth, 12th overall, in 4:06.15. Both times are provisional.
Junior Greg Kogut followed with a seventh place finish in the 100 Fly, touching in 49.97, a provisional time. Woodford finished fourth in the B final with a time of 50.87. Lordi then took sixth place in the 200 Free as he touched in 1:39.32, also a provisional time. In the B Final, senior Will Kimball placed fourth in 1:40.62 while Holder won the C Final in 1:40.62. Both Kimball and Holder swam provisional times. Also in the C Final was junior Aaron Katrikh, finishing in fourth place (1:44.29) and freshman Jeremy Bauchwitz, in sixth with a time of 1:44.70.
The 100 Breast saw Acquaviva place fifth in the B Final with a time of 57.94. Freshman Scott Sterrett placed eight in 58.43 and classmate Austin Bridges won the C Final in 57.95. Woodford took seventh in the B Final of the 100 Back with a time of 51.92 and freshman Patrick Flynn won the C Final in 51.42. Hopkins closed out the second day of the championship with a bronze in the 800 Free Relay. Kimball, Acquaviva, Holder and Lordi swam a time of 6:41.79, a provisional time. In addition, Kimball's lead off leg of 1:40.11 is a provisional time.
Johns Hopkins Women
The Johns Hopkins women’s swim team grabbed 443 points on the second day of the 2014 Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) Championship and remains in third place. The Blue Jays claimed three titles on the second day as junior Ana Bogdanovski won the 200 Free while the team won the 200 Medley and 800 Free Relay. Host Wingate moved in first place with 976.5 points through two days and Queens with 872.5 points.
Hopkins opened the night with a win and a school record in the 200 Medley Relay. The team of senior Taylor Kitayama, freshman Pilar Shimizu, junior Kylie Holden and senior Kylie Ternes swam a winning time of 1:42.24. The time is an NCAA provisional time and knocked 1.10 seconds off the previous record. It is the Blue Jays fifth BMC title in the event and 11th overall conference title. Junior Sammi Fox then took silver in the 400 IM, touching in 4:26.03. It is a provisional time and the second fastest in program history. Freshman Keri Gawlik won the B Final, finishing ninth overall with a time of 4:36.97.
The Blue Jays then placed four swimmers in the top 12 of the 100 Fly, led by freshman Abby Brown’s fourth-place finish. She finished with a provisional time of 56.13, while Ternes took fifth place, also with a provisional time, in 56.60. Freshman Shirley Chan won the B Final with a provisional time of 56.40 with Holden taking fourth in the final and 12th overall in 58.59. Bogdanovski followed with her second individual title of the weekend, winning the 200 Free by nearly one second, touching in 1:49.16. Her time is a provisional time and the third fastest in program history. It is the Blue Jays’ seventh BMC 200 Free title and 11th overall conference title in the event. Freshman Ellen Marcus and senior Sarah Rinsma took sixth and seventh respectively, clocking in at 1:53.0 and 1:53.18 for provisional times. Freshman Emily Lubin took fourth in the B Final and 12th overall, finishing in 1:54.91.
Shimizu followed with a fifth-place finish in the 100 Breast, touching in 1:05.97, a provisional time. Holden took eighth in the C Final and 24th overall in 1:11.20. In the final individual event of the night, Kitayama grabbed silver as she clocked in at 53.82. Her time is an NCAA automatic qualifying time and the third fastest in program history. In the B Final, sophomore Sean McGrath took second, 10th overall, with a time of 58.38. Sophomore Hannah Benn followed in third, 11th overall, in 58.73.
Hopkins ended the night, the way it began – with a relay title. The team of Rinsma, Kitayama, Fox and Bogdanovski swam a winning time of 7:23.72, to win by more than four and a half seconds. The time is a provisional time and the third fastest in program history. In addition, Rinsma’s lead off split of 1:51.65 is a provisional time. JHU has now won eight BMC 800 Free Relay titles, including four consecutive, and 16 overall.
The 16th annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship concludes on Sunday, February 16. The morning prelims are scheduled for a 10:00 am start, beginning with the 200 Back. The 1650 Free finals are slated for 12:15 pm with the remaining finals beginning at 5:00 pm.
