JEFFERSON CITY, TN - The Carson-Newman swim team have maintained a steady ranking in Division II swimming. The men's team were able to move up a spot, from fifth to fourth, while the women's squad kept their ranking of fourth for Division II women's teams.
C-N were able to maintain their high national rankings after a titanic weekend battle against the newly ranked Wingate Bulldogs (#3 women's and #6 men's). The Eagles and Bulldogs fought back-and-forth throughout both sessions of Saturday's meet, with the Bulldogs taking the victory 333-297.
"After Saturday, I think our team continued to show how competitive they can be." Carson-Newman coach Jordan Taylor said. "It's still early on in this season to really know where we stand among our major competition, but as the season progresses, I think our team will continue to prove itself."
At Saturday's meet, sophomore Raphael Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) set the second-fastest time in program history for the men's 100-yd freestyle, with a time of 43.88. Lima's time is third-fastest in all of Division II for the 100 free, 12th fastest in the nation, and the fastest 100-yd free time in the state of Tennessee.
The Eagles also gained consistent performances from freshman Chase Rayment (South Africa), who won or placed in all six of his events, and senior CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark), who helped the Eagles keep pace with the Bulldogs on the women's side throughout the whole meet.
"The team knew how tough Wingate was going to be, but yet battled from start to finish." Taylor said. "For us to be where we are right now and maintain such a high level of recognition, this is exactly where we want our program to be."
The Eagles received national rankings last season after the King Invite, but no rankings stand out more than last week. The Eagles after defeating Milligan garnered the highest national rankings in program history, with the women standing at fourth and the men coming in at fifth, respectively.
"Other teams have raced in their mid-season tune-up and have seen immense competition. Our mid-season tune-up does not come until mid-December," Taylor said. "We'll see how we fare after the event, but I think our team is ready to compete and will continue to trend upward and get better."
C-N maintains its position as one of the higher ranked Bluegrass Mountain Conference teams. The Eagles fall one place behind fellow BMC member Queens on the men's side and Saturday's opponent, Wingate, on the women's side. Queens hold the #7 ranking for women's while Wingate is ranked #6 for their men's team after Saturday's battle. Other BMC members holding a ranking are Lees-McRae (#22 in women and #26 in men), Lenoir-Rhyne (#23 in women, #22 in men), and Catawba (#38 in women, #27 in men). *Rankings are out of a total of 75 Division II teams*
The Eagles will look to maintain its strong national presence and substantial program success as they will travel to Charlotte, NC for the Wingate Winter Fest Invite from Dec. 17-19, 2020.
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman swim team all across C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
