VIDEO: Ben Young Schedule Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman head swim coach Ben Young released the 2024-2025 swimming schedule, where the Eagles host four home matches in Mossy Creek.
The Eagles kickoff the season with the ninth annual Blue vs. Orange World Championships, a high stakes intrasquad competition. This season's meet will take place Friday, Sep. 27 in the Maddox Student Activities Center (MSAC). Last year's meet saw the blue team win bragging rights in a 192-161 victory over the orange team. Over the nine year stretch of the meet, the series record has widened (5-3) in favor of the blue team.
Carson-Newman sets off the regular season on a 3-meet road trip beginning at Emory & Henry on Friday, Oct. 4. The meet will be held in the Emory & Henry Aquatics Center in Emory, Va. at 6:00 p.m. The Eagles swept the Wasps in both meetings last year with a road victory of 189-72 and a home win of 159-31.
"Every start of the season is a bit different," said Young. "We start the same way. A lot more team building techniques with time away from the pool and in the classroom learning what it means to be an Eagle."
On Saturday, Oct. 12, the Eagles make the trip to Virginia Tech for a 1:00 p.m. start time. This non-conference meet will take place at the Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Blacksburg Va. This is the first of three Division I swim meets for the Eagles this season.
"It's just another swim meet," said Young. "The challenge is there intentionally, and we want them to swim up to their competition as opposed to having easy swim meets. It's about piecing together races and understanding that the competition is going to be there. The way we prepare for meets is very similar to how they prepare."
The second conference meet will see the Eagles travel to Mars Hill on Saturday, Oct. 26. This meet is taking place in Harrell Pool in Mars Hill, N.C. at 11:00 a.m. Carson-Newman claimed victory in both meets over the Lions with an away win of 108-96 and home win of 110-93 last season.
The Eagles open their first true home meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 welcoming Emory & Henry and Milligan. Swimmers take their positions at 11:00 a.m. in the Maddox Student Activities Center in Jefferson City, Tenn.
Carson-Newman's two-day meet is on the road at the Emory Fall Invitational starting Friday, Nov. 8 and ending Saturday, Nov. 9 with start times TBA. This meet is set at the Madeleine Jude Brown Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Eagles earned a third place finish in last year's meet.
"They are very used to multi-day meets. The biggest difference is understanding the amount of times they will see prelims and finals. Making sure they take care of their body, and being in support of your teammates. We are known to be loud and we enjoy that wherever we go we are heard," Young said.
A three-day meet at the University of South Carolina is up next for the Eagles swim team. The Gamecock Invitational kicks off on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and wraps up Friday, Nov. 22. The meet is set in the Carolina Natatorium in Columbia, S.C. Times for this meet are TBA.
The Eagles return home to welcome Wingate for a two-day meet starting on Friday, Dec. 13 and ending Saturday Dec. 14. This meet is taking place in the Maddox Student Activities Center in Jefferson City, Tenn.
After winter break, the team makes their way to Georgia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 4 set in the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Ga. Beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Eagles look to improve from last season's loss of 208-48.
Eagles senior night is also the final home match and regular season meet of the season. It is set for Friday, Jan. 17 against Mars Hill starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Maddox Student Activities Center in Jefferson City, Tenn.
"It's go time at that point," Young said. "It's an opportunity to send out the seniors that have given so much to the program. For them it's an opportunity to show what they've meant to this team."
Postseason action begins with the South Atlantic Conference Championships meet starting Wednesday, Feb. 5 and goes through Saturday, Feb 8. in the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C. Start times for all meets are TBA.
Carson-Newman hopes to repeat the success that they found at last year's SAC Championships. Multiple Eagle swimmers had podium finishes and broke personal bests. Daniel De Oliveira broke the SAC Swimming Championship meet record with his performance of 49.61-second swim in the men's 100 fly.
Carson-Newman men's swim ended the second day of the 2024 SAC Men's & Women's Swimming Championships in third place with 603 points. The women moved up to second place with 721 points after the second day of competition.
"We shift gears into championship season, and we focus on going fast at the end of the year. It's going to be a ton of fun," said Young.
The Eagles swim season caps off with a trip to the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships beginning on Tuesday, Mar. 11 through Saturday, Mar. 15 with start times TBA. Championship races are set at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind.
"It's an iconic pool," Young said. "It means so much to swimmers across the nation. Anybody that swims in that pool is blessed. It's an opportunity to show what we do throughout the year."
Finishing competition with a 20th place finish, the Eagles had a handful of stand out performances in last year's Championship races. Kyla Blakemore placed 11th in Division II in the women's backstroke after a 55.07-second performance.
Carson-Newman men's swimmer Daniel de Oliveira swam the 100-yard butterfly finals in 46.63 seconds to place seventh and earn All-American status.
Carson-Newman swim has a full season ahead beginning with the Blue vs. Orange World Championships on Friday, Sep. 27. Come out to support and stay up to date by visiting cneagles.com.
