MOUNT BERRY, Ga.- Carson-Newman swim grabbed a win over Berry College this evening, Jan. 26. The Eagles left with 21 first-place finishes and a final score of 280-115 over the Vikings.
The evening in Mount Berry, Ga. began with the women's 400-yard medley relay. Kyla Blakemore, Breanna Belcher, Chrisman Rand, and Kennadi King won gold in the event in 3:48.04. On the men's side, Tyler Schehr, Asger Hartvig, Daniel de Oliveira, and Benaiah McDowell won the event in 3:25.09.
"Starting out, the 400 medley was a fantastic swim," head swim coach Ben Young said. "I'm especially happy with our women's group who was half a second off of their midseason time".
Maria Tirulli placed first in the women's 1,000-yard freestyle in 10:46.29. Jed Little grabbed the win for the men in 10:00.20. Little also grabbed a first-place finish in the men's 500 free with a time of 4:52.64.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Emma Bowling placed first in 24.12. Daniel Ribeiro won gold in the men's event in 20.84.
"Emma absolutely crushed the 50 free. She was just off her personal best in the event. We talked in our pre-meet interview about making sure that everyone understands where we are in the season and the importance of relays. Emma was one that stepped up to that challenge and did really well in her events," Young said. "It was the same for Daniel. He was right off of his personal best, and I was very proud to see that swim from him".
In the 200-yard IM, Rand grabbed gold in 2:08.76, and McDowell won on the men's side of competition in 1:57.94. He was followed by Nicholas Rennhack (2:06.09) in fourth and Christian Balint (2:06.98) in sixth.
"I really would hate not to mention Christian tonight," Young said. "He is just coming off some medical procedures. It was a challenging night for him because it was the first time since his surgery that he went back-to-back events. His 200 IM was a fantastic swim for him tonight".
Belcher swam for gold in the women's 100-yard butterfly. She finished the event in 58.50. Ribeiro locked down another win for the men in the event with a final time of 50.32.
"Bre was just off her personal best in the 100 fly tonight, so it is always great to see that. Daniel also had a fantastic swim. He was just off his midseason time which is exactly what we are looking to see this weekend," Young said.
Blakemore made another strong appearance in the women's 100 free with a win in 53.48, and de Oliveira grabbed gold in the event in 45.92.
"I loved Daniel's 100 free tonight," Young said. "Again, he was another one that was really close to his midseason time. He had an outstanding swim".
In the women's 100-yard backstroke, Sarah Covington placed first in 56.96. Schehr won for the men in 51.51.
Antonia Sanint won the women's 100-yard breaststroke. She finished the event in 1:05.70. In the men's 100 breast, Hartvig finished first in 57.02.
The Eagles won the women's 200-yard freestyle relay to end the evening. Lily Parr swam with teammates Rand, King, and Sanint to secure a first-place finish in 1:36.32.
"All in all, it was a solid team win. It was awesome being down here and getting to swim in a new pool," Young said. "We were happy to see where we are, and I'm excited to see what we can do tomorrow at Georgia Tech. It certainly isn't over, and we have a lot of swimming tomorrow, but tonight was fantastic, so we are ready to keep working tomorrow morning".
Carson-Newman swim will be back in action tomorrow morning, Jan. 27 against Georgia Tech and East Carolina. The meet will take place in Atlanta, Ga. and begin at 11:00 a.m. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
