Video: First Session Highlights
Video: Second Session Highlights
Video: Jordan Taylor Interview
Video: Chase Rayment Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles swimming team fought tooth and nail through every event but came up short against the Wingate Bulldogs by a combined score of 333-297. The men fall to the Bulldogs by a score of 158-157, marking the first home loss for the Eagles since the program's first ever meet back in 2013. The women fell 175-140, marking the second straight home meet against Wingate where the Bulldogs pulled out a victory on the women's side.
"I said when we looked at this meet that it would be competitive from start to finish and every point would have to be earned." head coach Jordan Taylor said. "I think the way our team continued to compete and give Wingate a run for their money to start the season is exactly what we look for in our program. We want to continue improving on our times and competition like Wingate helps us achieve that goal."
Carson-Newman came out of the gate strong, taking 10 out of the first 16 competitions between these nationally ranked squads. Halfway through competition, the Eagles held a slight 154-142 lead over the Bulldogs. Carson-Newman men's team led with a score of 82-66 while the women were slightly behind with a score of 72-76. However, the Bulldogs came out stronger than ever for the second session to come away with the victory.
A major bright spot for the Eagles came in event 12 of the day, the men's 100-yd freestyle. In the event, reigning Bluegrass Mountain Conference Male Swimmer of the Week, Raphael Lima, swam the second-fastest time in the nation at 0:43.88. This time is now second fastest in C-N Swimming history for the men's 100-yd freestyle (0:43.66).
Taylor has made it clear to this team to "control what is in front of them" and to take advantage of the competitions they will have during this unprecedented year.
On the men's side, freshman Chase Rayment stood out in all six of his events. Rayment posted a strong performance in all six events he saw action in, helping the Eagles keep a steady performance throughout the event.
"I don't count this as a loss. The team came out and won the races we wanted to, while giving Wingate a battle from start to finish in every competition," Rayment said. "We'll take some takeaways from today and see what we can continue improving on as we look forward to Charlotte."
On the women's side, one of the biggest standouts was senior CJ Jensen. Jensen helped the Eagles keep pace with Wingate and lower the score gap to its lowest ever in the meetings between Bulldogs and Eagles.
"I was happy with the team effort today. We had a strong week of practice to prepare for Wingate and we will look to continue doing so as the season continues in a couple weeks in Charlotte," Jensen said.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will continue to train and prepare for the next meet of the 2020-21 season as they will be competing in the Wingate Winter Fest Invitational from December 17-19 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center in Charlotte, N.C.
"Usually we're preparing for mid-season around this time of year, but with everything we've gone through, our mid-season will be next month," head coach Jordan Taylor said. "We'll be ready for the tough competition that we'll see in Charlotte, with Wingate included. We'll take this opportunity to rest up and come back stronger than we've been. We're headed in the right direction and I'm excited to see this team progress."
