C-N stays perfect in dual meets with 345-179 thrashing of Emmanuel

Sam Schechter
Sam Schechter

FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – The Carson-Newman swim team picked up its fourth victory in four dual meets this season, as they bested the Emmanuel College Lions by as score of 345-179 on Friday afternoon in Franklin Springs, Ga.

The C-N women came out on top by a score of 186-76, while the men bested their Emmanuel counterparts, 159-103.

"Overall, I'm pleased with the performance of the team," coach Jordan Taylor said. "We swam well despite being very tired from our training camp in Florida and the work we have been doing in the pool and the weight room."

The Eagles started the day off right with victories in the women's and men's 200 medley relays, the events that opened the competition. Ksenia Naydenova (Stary Oskol, Russia), Gillian Cline (Estill Springs, Tenn.), Amanda Henderson (Bartlett, Tenn.) and Mary Northcutt (Huntsville, Ala.) combined for a first place time of 1:54.38 on the women's side and Seth Hughes (Kingston, Tenn.), Andrei Roman (Medias, Romania), Pijus Mackevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) and Sam Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) put up a time of 1:33.28 to lead the men.

As the meet shifted to the individual events, coach Taylor's swimmers continued their strong showing. The women picked up victories from 10 different swimmers on their way to a perfect day, the third time they've accomplished that feat during the 2016-17 campaign. Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) both played starring roles, as they each claimed two wins. Stansberry's time of 1:56.31 was good enough to garner her first place in the 200 free and she followed that up by taking the 100 free in 53.37. Melhorn cruised to the top spot in the 100 breaststroke, as her mark of 1:07.26 was more than four seconds ahead of second place, and she also won the 200 individual medley by clocking in at 2:11.80.

The list of winners for the Eagles also included Leah Allen (Aranda, Australia), who claimed first place in the 1000 free for the second straight event, hitting the wall in 10:58.25, and Olivia Winkler (Marietta, Ga.), as her time of 1:00.80 topped the field in the 100 back. Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) led the way in the 200 fly by completing the race in 2:12.62. Lisa Postma (Leiden, Holland) took care of business in the 50 free with a time of 24.86. Seniors Amanda Henderson and Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) contributed W's, Henderson in the 200 back, clocking in at 2:10.10, and Smith in the 200 breaststroke, churning out a time of 2:29.30. Regina Zipperer (Germantown, Tenn.) swam the 500 free in 5:21.55, which was good enough for first place and Elly Culp (West End, N.C.) found the wall first in the 100 fly, doing so in 58.78.

The C-N men triumphed six times on the individual side and six different swimmers added to their win totals. Marcelo Figueiredo (Porto Alegre, Brazil) continued an outstanding season by out-doing five other swimmers in the 1000 free with a time of 9:52.56. He was joined in the winner's circle by MacKevicius, who was victorious in the 50 free after clocking in at 21.37. Jonny Goss (Heiskell, Tenn.) grabbed first place in the 100 free, thanks to a time of 46.81. Jon Lancaster's (Ringgold, Ga.) ninth victory of the season came in the 200 breaststroke, an event he won by more than four seconds with a mark of 1:54.34. Roman took home his second win as an Eagle when he edged out Caleb Howell (Easley, S.C.) in the 200 breaststroke, finishing in 2:07.32 compared to Howell's 2:07.48. Howell, however, picked up a W in the final individual race of the day, the 200 IM, which he finished in 1:56.50.

Carson-Newman put a stamp on their triumph by closing out the competition with victories in the women's and men's 200 free relays. For the women, the first place team consisted of Zipperer, Postma, Elizabeth Gitto (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Alexandra Nuyianes (Clearwater, Fla.) and Goss, Hughes, MacKevicius and Schechter formed the winning quartet for the men.

"This allows us to keep the momentum rolling into conference," Taylor said. "This trip has been good fun and the whole team is continuing to gel."

The Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships are up next for the Eagles. They are set to be held from February 8th-11th in Charlotte, N.C. 

-CN-