BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the fourth straight season, Carson-Newman swimming will send at least seven swimmers to NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships. This year, the Eagles will send eight (with one alternate) athletes to Birmingham, Ala from March 17-20. This marks the program's sixth trip to nationals in its eight-year history.
"Yeah, it's awesome to have eight swimmers qualify individually. It highlights our depth and the quality of swimmers we have here at C-N," head coach Jordan Taylor said. "Considering the lower number of swimmers being invited this year to the championships as a whole, it is great to have so many make it."
The Eagles have a total of three male swimmers (and one alternate) joined by five female swimmers journeying to the national stage. The Eagles will be led by slew of underclass men on both sides, as six of the nine Eagles are freshman or sophomore.
Starting with the men's three individuals, sophomore Raphael Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) has been a force in the pool for C-N all season long. He will be competing in three different events for his time at Nationals, with a spot in the 50 freestyle, the 200 freestyle, and the 100 freestyle. Lima currently ranks 2nd in the nation for the 200 free (1:35.71), 7th for the 100 free (43.62), and 17th in the nation for the 50 free (19.96). Lima's 50 free time of 19.96 is tied for third in program history while he holds the school record in both the 100 free with the time of 43.62 and the 200 free with his qualifying time of 1:35.71.
Junior Matthew George (Manchester, England) will see action once more in the 500-yard freestyle. His qualifying time of 4:28.57 is 17th fastest in the nation as George looks to leave his mark at Nationals for the second time in his Eagles career. George currently holds the school record in the 500 free at 4:26.26, but his time of 4:28.57 is the third-fastest time in program history and gives George three of the top five times in the event as an Eagle.
The Eagles will get to see the debut of freshman Denilson Cyprianos (Bulawayo, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe) at the Nationals level when he competes in the 200-yard backstroke. He holds a qualifying time of 1:45.44, which is good enough for the 7th fastest time in all of Division II competition. Cyprianos set this time at the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships a couple weeks ago and is sitting as the third-fastest Eagle for the event.
"In a normal year we would be around this number and if the selection number had been the same as previous years, we would have seen a record number of swimmers invited to compete individually," Taylor said.
On the women's side, sophomore Manon Compagner (Balkburg, The Netherlands) takes to the national stage for the second straight season. She will compete in four different events throughout the three-day competition as she sees the pool in the 50 free, 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, and 100 freestyle. Compagner sits as the 14th fastest time in all of Division II in the 50 free with qualifying time of 23.47. For the 100 butterfly, Manon qualified with her time against Wingate (54.72), the third-fastest time by an Eagle in the event. The 100-yard backstroke see Compagner as the 20th time in all of Division II and third fastest in Eagles history. Finally, the 100 freestyle is where she has excelled the most as she holds the second fastest time in C-N history for the event and the 7th fastest time in DII.
Junior Meredith Ginn (Ocala, Fla.) has found her stride as the years has gone on for Carson-Newman. When she gets to Birmingham, she will compete in the 200-yard individual medley, the 400-yard individual medley, and the 200-yard breaststroke. Ginn's time of 2:01.18 sits as the fourth fastest time in Division II this year and the current school record from the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships in Fort Mill, S.C. In the 400 IM, Ginn is in the top-10 at 4:23.04 and sits alongside fellow Eagle CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) in the top-5 for program history. In her final event, the 200-yard breaststroke, Ginn is currently the 13th fastest in all of Division II at 2:17.09, which places her second in program history.
The "leader" of the women's Eagle team has been senior CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark). Jensen will look to cement herself further into Carson-Newman history with her efforts in three different events: the 200 and 400 IM and the 200-yard butterfly. Jensen qualified with a time of 2:03.26 in the 200 yard IM, good enough for 12th fastest in DII and fifth fastest in program history. For the 400 yard IM, Jensen came in with a top time of 4:20.03 which gave her a new school record at Conference Championships and seats her in the top-five of all Division II times this year. Finally, an event which Jensen has seen great success in during her time at C-N, the 200-yard butterfly, sees her qualifying in 2:02.27, the ninth fastest in DII and the third-fastest in C-N history.
The Eagles will also send sophomore Kailee Morgan (Greenville, S.C.) to compete in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Morgan qualified with a time of 1:02.02 in the 100-yard breaststroke. This not only gave her the second fastest time in school history but gathered her fourth of the top five times in the event. The other person holding a top time for C-N in the 100-yard breaststroke and former All-American Maggie Melhorn who set the record in 2018. Morgan also sits as the third fastest in all of Division II in the event. In the longer breaststroke, Morgan qualified in 2:17.98 which is the third-fastest in C-N program history and 20th fastest in DII.
The final Eagle who qualified is sophomore Rachel Peden. The Boiling Springs, N.C. native will compete in three events for Carson-Newman: the 1000 freestyle, the 400 IM, and the 1650 freestyle. Peden has been a consistent performer in the 1000-yard freestyle throughout the 2020-21 campaign. With her qualifying time of 10:02.05, Peden also secured the new school record, breaking the old record set by Lexy Raybon back in 2015. She also notched a top-five time in DII with this qualification. In the 1650 freestyle, Peden notched herself a top-10 DII time with her qualification of 16:53.40 which places her atop the Carson-Newman leaderboard in this event as well. Finally, the 400 IM saw Peden join the C-N leaderboards while also securing herself in the top 10 of all DII times this season.
"As a group, we are excited to complete the final week of preparation and go to the biggest stage to race the best in the country," Taylor said.
The Eagles will also see action in the men's 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle, 800-yard freestyle and the 400-yard medley relay. On the women's side, the Eagles qualify for the 200-yard freestyle and 400-yard medley relays.
Freshman Thanos Diamanditis (Greece) is set as an alternate in the men's 200-yard breaststroke.
For a season like no other, Taylor and his troops hope to keep their season success afloat as the men enter Nationals ranked 12th in DII while the women still grasp a top-10 slot as the number 9 team for DII.
Stay tuned to cneagles.com ncaa.com when they announce their live stats, video, and meet schedule for the entire week.
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