ATHENS, Ga. - Following the wrap up of the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships, Carson-Newman swimming heads to the Peach State for one last chance to improve ahead of Nationals.
The Eagles will see action alongside some formidable opponents over the two days of competition. Other schools participating in the event include Florida State, Wyoming, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Northern Colorado, Miami, and BYU.
"It is an honor to have been invited to swim in a DI meet like this, especially in the time of COVID and all the strict rules and regulations. Having connections like this come from our exposure at the Tennessee invite over the years," says head coach Jordan Taylor. "The swimmers are excited to race again this weekend. They will leave it all in the pool on every race in hopes of improving their times and gain qualifications for NCAA National Championships."
CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark), Chrisman Rand (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), Debora Xavier (Sao Paulo, Brazil), and Kailee Morgan (Greenville, S.C.) will all be in action looking to improve on times ahead of DII Nationals. Jensen currently sits at fifth in the country for the 400 IM, sixth in the country for the 200 butterfly, and 11th in the nation for the 200 IM. Morgan currently sits as third in the country for the 100-yard breaststroke. Morgan will be competing in this event over the next few days while Jensen and the rest of the Eagles compete to improve their times in various other events.
Rand will be competing in the 50-yard freestyle while Xavier will be alongside Rand in the 50-yard freestyle and will fly solo and compete in the 100-yard freestyle as well.
For the men, Nicolas Lenuza (Spain), Chase Rayment (South Africa), Matthew George (Manchester, England), Kodee Eads (Johnson City, Tenn.), Nikita Puzevich (Belarus), Brandon Meier (Greenville, S.C.), Joey Clemmer (Murfreesboro, Tenn), and Thanos Diamanditis (Greece) will be the representatives for C-N in Athens.
George is currently the 14th fastest in the 500 freestyle while Clemmer holds the 13th fastest time in the 200 breaststroke. Both athletes will look to not only better themselves ahead of Nationals but make a splash in the pool.
Lenuza will be a participant in the men's 100 and 200-yard butterfly, an event he has seen great success in to start off his Eagles career. Rayment will compete with Lenuza in the 100-yard butterfly but will be also seeing action in the 100-yard backstroke as well.
Puzevich and Meier will be active in both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle. Finally, both Clemmer and Diamanditis will be competitors in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke.
The qualifying Eagles will have a few weeeks of break prior to the start of DII Nationals in Birmingham, Ala. in March.
EVENT Schedule
Saturday, Feb. 27 (Prelims – 10 a.m. / Finals – 5 p.m.)
200 Freestyle Relay
100 Butterfly
500 Freestyle
200 IM
50 Freestyle
800 Freestyle Relay
200 Backstroke
100 Breaststroke
200 Freestyle
200 Medley Relay
Sunday, Feb. 28 (Prelims – 10 a.m. / Finals – 4 p.m.)
400 Medley Relay
400 IM
100 Freestyle
200 Butterfly
200 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
1,650 Freestyle
400 Freestyle Relay
