The nationally-ranked Wingate University men's and women's swimming teams will participate in the 17th annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte Wednesday through Saturday. Both Wingate teams are the defending champions.
In 2014, Wingate swept the championships for the second year in a row. The Bulldog men's team captured its seventh title in a row and the Wingate women collected their fourth crown (and second consecutive title). WU head coach Kirk Sanocki earned the Bob Busby Award for Coach of the Year on the women's side. Sanocki has 10 Busby Awards (six men, four women).
Last year, the Wingate men trailed by 56.5 points after day one and 27 points after day two; the Bulldogs posted 1394.5 points to edge Queens University of Charlotte by 45 markers. The Bulldog women took the lead on day two and didn't give it back; Wingate amassed 1395.5 points. The Queens Royals were second with 1283.5 points. Perennial NCAA Division III power Johns Hopkins (Md.) was third on both the 2014 men's and women's BMC charts.
Sanocki sat down with the Wingate sports information department and answered a few questions about the upcoming BMC meet (a transcript of the interview follows).
How has practice been in the days leading up to the BMC championships?
We've practiced very well. A big thing we are trying to accomplish...is keeping our emotions in check from one day to the next. We are resting our bodies...so we can be in the state of peak performance this week. The emotions...they are similar to a roller coaster. We are focusing on the things we can control.
We are reminding and reinforcing things we have told the swimmers all year. We are hoping to create an atmosphere where the mind and the body both come together at the same time. If we do, great things will result.
Is there any pressure as the defending champions?
We are trying to get the incoming freshman classes to realize the magnitude of this event and what the seven men's teams and the four women's teams before them have done. This is one of the most difficult aspects of our preparation.
If we give our best and we get beat...we take our hats off to the team who won. The fact remains...we are facing quality opponents. We want to face quality opponents the entire year...this brings out the best in us. We must remember...competition is fun. We hope this brings out the best in us this week.
Are there any key races?
Every race is a key race. It is hard to micro-manage an event of this magnitude...when every race is so important. There are so many excellent swimmers...across the board...things can change dramatically in a moment. This is why our coaching staff stresses the importance of racing.
Are there certain individuals who have stepped up their game?
We have a core group of student-athletes who have held up their end...all season long. We are looking for them to continue this weekend. The big thing for us...as it concerns overall placing...are the surprises. One never knows who will put together a surprise...the coaches have an idea who might...but until we reach the competition...one never knows.
As I tell our swimmers all the time...our ability to win the Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet doesn't rest with the one-through-five swimmers...it rests with swimmers 13-through-18.
We lost 50 percent of our points from last year's title teams. We lost nine student-athletes who scored significant points. We believe we put together a great recruiting class. We have numerous first-time BMC participants who have no idea of the pressure surrounding this meet...the aura if you will...surrounding this meet. We'll see how they handle everything.
BULLDOG NOTES
Wingate welcomes back three 2014 BMC individual champions. Wingate sophomore Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.) broke a seven-year-old BMC 200 Breaststroke meet record held by current Bulldog assistant coach Maria Vlashchenko in the 2014 preliminaries (2:16.40). Weiss touched first in the 200 Breast final with a time of 2:16.99. She also won the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:03.30.
Wingate sophomore Leif-Henning Klüver (Risum-Lindholm, Germany) won the 2014 BMC 200 Freestyle with a time of 1:38.34. Weiss and Klüver are two of eight returning All-American swimmers for the 2015 Bulldogs.
