Queens Press Release
The top ranked team in the nation, the Queens University of Charlotte men’s swim, reclaimed their conference title for the third year in a row at the conclusion of the Bluegrass Conference Championships tonight. The Royals led through the entirety of the meet, earning a final score of 1682 for their gold standing. The No. 10-ranked team, Wingate, took second place (1293) while Carson-Newman secured bronze (1036). Head Coach Jeff Dugdale would be named Men’s Coach of the Meet.
“This weekend and tonight was a great tune up in our preparation to put ourselves in a position to compete for two more national championships,” said Coach Dugdale. “Specifically our women showed a lot of ‘Royals Pride’ in making sure they brought home a third conference championship.”
Leading the pool by two seconds, Paul Pijulet recorded a 1:44.36 in the 200 yard backstroke. Additionally, his time would earn him a trip to the NCAA champions as he tabbed the automatic qualifying mark.
Dion Dreesens added the 100 yard freestyle to his weekend taking the top swim in the event. He reached the wall with a 44.21 (NCAA “B” Standard) to claim his first place medal.
In a tight race, Inigo Alarcia came out ahead with a 1:59.38 touch in the 200 yard breaststroke. With his three tenths of a second victory, he secured an NCAA “B” cut.
It was a 1-2 finish for the Royals in the 200 yard butterfly as Marius Kusch took lead with a record breaking 1:44.96. His new meet record qualified as an NCAA “A” standard. Zach Bunner followed, closing out the top spots with a time 1:46.23 (NCAA “B” standard) for silver.
The last first-place finish of the night went to the 400 yard freestyle relay. The team of Kusch, Dreesens, Dmytro Sydorchenko, and Mitchell Harwood, respectively, made their way to the wall with a time of 2:56.30, taking a new meet record for the event.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.- The No. 2 ranked Queens University of Charlotte women’s swim team defended its two year hold on the Bluegrass Mountain Conference title, claiming the honor for the third year in a row at the conclusion of tonight’sfinals. The Royals secured the victory earning 1584.5 points, posting ahead of No. 7 ranked Wingate in second place (1551 points) and No. 22 ranked Carson-Newman in third (1126 points).
“This weekend and tonight was a great tune up in our preparation to put ourselves in a position to compete for two more national championships,” said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. “Specifically our women showed a lot of ‘Royals Pride’ in making sure they brought home a third conference championship.”
The team started their final day in the conference meet with back-to-back finishes in the 1650 yard freestyle. Sarah Reamy stood atop the standings, clocking a 17:04.15 by the time the mile swim was completed. She was followed by teammate Kathryn Johnston who reached the wall in second place with a time of 17:13.57. Both athletes out touched the competition by half a pool length as they claimed NCAA “B” standard marks for the event.
Taking hold of the 200 yard backstroke, Hannah Peiffer earned an automatic qualifying spot with her first place finish. She reached into the wall with 1:56.51 in the event.
Dasha Talanova record a first place finish in the 200 yard breaststroke, shattering the meet record for the event. Driving for the top swim, she secured a 2:14.11 (NCAA “B” Standard).
In the last individual event of the night, Josefina Lorda-Taylor put the Royals at the top of the podium once more, laying claim to the 200 yard butterfly. Her time of 2:01.89 earned her an NCAA “B” cut for the event.
The meet ended with Queens claiming second place in the 400 yard freestyle relay. McKenzie Stevens, Kyrie Dobson, Lorda-Taylor, and Shelly Prayson, respectively, clocked a 3:25.04.
Queens will host the Royals Open on February 17, as the team prepares to make the trip to the NCAA Championships March 8-11.
Wingate Press Release
Wingate University junior Alex Divelbiss (Pueblo, Colo.) concluded her first Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet in style, earning BMC Swimmer of the Year honors in the 19th annual BMC event at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center (MCAC) in downtown Charlotte (championship central). Wingate head coach Kirk Sanocki was the Bob Busby Award winner for BMC Coach of the Year for women's swimming. Both Bulldog teams finished second in this year's competition (Saturday results; Saturday PM time trials; complete 2017 BMC results).
For the meet, Divelbiss won three individual races and two relay swims. On Saturday, Divelbiss won the 100 Freestyle with her time of 50.28. She swam the anchor leg as the Bulldogs won the 400 Freestyle Relay with a time of 3:22.65. Her 2017 BMC ledger includes individual victories in the 200 and the 400 Individual Medleys and the 100 Freestyle. She helped Wingate win the 800 Freestyle Relay and the 400 Freestyle Relay. Divelbiss also collected a relay silver medal and a relay bronze medal.
Sanocki has 11 Bob Busby Awards for BMC Coach of the Year (six men, five women). Under his direction, the Wingate men have won seven BMC crowns. The Bulldog women have earned four BMC trophies. In the last two NCAA Division II national championship meets, the Wingate women have finished third (2015) and second (2016).
Queens University of Charlotte won both team titles for the third year in a row. On the women's side, Queens had 1584.5 points. Wingate (1551) and Carson-Newman (1126) finish second and third, respectively. On the men's side, the Queens Royals had 1682 points. Wingate was second with 1293 points, while Carson-Newman was third with 1036 points.
Wingate women's recap
Earlier in the week, Divelbiss won the 200 Individual Medley (2:01.34) and the 400 Individual Medley (4:22.09). The Adams State (Colo.) transferred completed her Saturday night with her second relay triumph of the week in the 400 Freestyle Relay. She was joined by sophomores
Hanna Van Horen (Hofstade, Belgium) and Maria Madsen (Dragoer, Denmark) and freshman Abby Kosic (West Chester, Pa.).
Madsen was sixth in the 100 Freestyle, while freshman Jordan Clark (Katy, Texas) and newcomer Leticia Odorici (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) finished one-two in the 100 Freestyle "B" final. Clark's victorious "B" final time was 52.11.
Wingate senior Academic All-America Vika Arkhipova (Seversk, Russia) was second in the 200 Backstroke with her NCAA Division II "A" cut time of 1:57.33. Arkhipova is the defending NCAA Division II national champion in the 200 Backstroke, as she touched first in the 2016 national championship meet in Indianapolis with her triumphant time of 1:55.90.
Two Bulldogs joined Arkhipova in the 200 Backstroke championship final: Kosic and junior Mariona Espinalt (Barcelona, Spain), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Wingate junior Miranda Seegars (Monroe, N.C.) was second in the 200 Backstroke "B" final.
Bulldog freshman Ebba Stillman (Huskvarna, Sweden) was second in the 200 Butterfly (2:02.03), while senior teammate Caitlin Coughlin (Cochranville, Pa.) took seventh place. WU senior Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.) was third in the 200 Breaststroke with her time of 2:15.78.
WU graduate student and team captain Olga Kosheleva (Yekaterinburg, Russia), freshman Katharina Vos (Zschopay, Germany) and junior Marinela Procopii (Hickory, N.C.) finished sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 200 Breaststroke.
Wingate men's recap
Wingate freshman Ben Evans (Dover, England) opened the night by winning the 1650 Freestyle with his time of 15:31.71. Earlier in the week, Dover claimed a gold medal in the 1000 Freestyle (9:12.55) and a bronze medal in the 500 Freestyle (4:29.43). All three times are NCAA Division II "B" cuts.
Wingate redshirt sophomore Lennart Queiss (Langen, Germany) and freshman Leo Zabudkin (Frankfurt, Germany) recorded one individual silver medal swim each, while Queiss swam the first leg on Wingate's second-place 400 Freestyle Relay quartet (2:56.62).
Queiss was second in the 100 Freestyle with his time of 44.48. He was joined on the 400 Freestyle Relay by junior Sebastian Holmberg (Njutanger, Sweden) and seniors Mehdi Zeraidi (Brussels, Belgium) and Leif-Henning Klüver (Risum-Lindholm, Germany). Queens set a new meet record (2:56.30) to edge the Bulldogs by 0.32 seconds. Zeraidi and Holmberg were sixth and seventh, respectively, in the 100 Freestyle.
Zabudkin was second in the 200 Breaststroke with his time of 1:59.68. Classmate Giacomo Viazzo (Lonato del Gardo, Italy) won the 200 Breaststroke "B" final with his time of 2:01.58.
Sophomore Niklas Martin (Kempton, Germany) received two individual bronze medals Saturday night. Martin was third in the 200 Backstroke (1:47.51) and the 200 Butterfly (1:48.52).
In the 200 Backstroke, Klüver was fourth. Bulldog sophomore Bricesen Burton (Rustburg, Va.) won the 200 Backstroke "B" final. Wingate senior Øystein Fjeldberg (Oslo, Norway) was eighth in the 200 Butterfly.
Selected Wingate student-athletes will compete in the Royal Invitational Friday and Saturday (Feb. 17-18) at the Levine Center on the Queens University of Charlotte campus. The NCAA Division II swimming and diving national championship meet is March 8-11 in Birmingham, Ala.
Catawba Press Release
Catawba concluded four days of swimming action at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships on Saturday at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center and saw the men set three school records in the final session. The men ended up sixth among 11 teams, while the women were eighth among 13 schools.
Freshman Mario Zaninovic opened the night with a record in the longest event, the 1650 free. Zaninovic lowered his own record he set earlier this season by nine seconds in posting a time of 16:01.22. The NCAA 'B' cut time put him in sixth place. Also swimming in the event was Dustin Ruppart (16th- 17:35.29), Robert McCue (19th- 17:47.11) and Dylan Twiddy (21st- 18:35.19).
Federico Borrego Higareda set a school record in the 200 breast of 2:01.32. He finished fifth with a NCAA 'B' cut. The other school mark went to Michael King in the 200 fly. The sophomore posted a NCAA 'B' cut time of 1:50.82 and won the B final. Arnold Blohme finished 20th with a time of 1:57.59.
Dominik Brus earned a finals swim in the 200 back and was seventh in his time of 1:50.61. Aly Hegazi went eighth in the 100 free (46.28) and Joao Barreto won the B final with a time of 46.09.
For the women, Cassie Shear posted a 13th-place finish in the 200 breast (2:27.59). Jess Daniel was 13th in the 200 fly (2:15.82) with Emily Najar right behind in 14th (2:20.08). Amy Cujas came home 19th in the 100 free (53.89).
The women 400 free relay team of Marcia-Mariel Erhart, Najar, Daniel and Cujas posted a time of 3:43.66 to finish 10th. The men's team of Hegazi, Higareda, Brus and Barreto went sixth with a time of 3:03.84.
Final Scores - Women
1. Queens 1584.5; 2. Wingate 1551; 3. Carson-Newman 1126; 4. SCAD 748; 5. Limestone 506; 6. Converse 386;
7. Davis & Elkins 379.5; 8. Catawba 330; 9t. Fairmont State 329; 9t. Lenoir Rhyne; 329; 11. Chowan 313;
12. Barton 169; 13. Salem International 60.
Final Scores - Men
1. Queens 1682; 2. Wingate 1293; 3. Carson-Newman 1036; 4. Limestone 833; 5. SCAD 566; 6. Catawba 557;
7. Lenoir Rhyne 400; 8. Davis & Elkins 386; 9. Fairmont State 348; 10. Barton 277; 11. Salem International 98.
