JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman swimming welcomes the Wingate Bulldogs to the banks of Mossy Creek for the first time since 2022 in a two-day contest beginning Friday, Dec. 13 at 6:00pm through Saturday, Dec. 14 at 11:00am.
The Eagles will kick off the two-day meet on Friday, Dec. 13 beginning at 6:00pm in the Maddox Student Activities Center.
After the Eagles returned from the three-day meet at South Carolina, Carson-Newman took time to rest and recover to face off fellow SAC competition.
"This is always an interesting time of the year," said Eagles swim coach Ben Young. "You get done with midseason and have Thanksgiving after then it's a race to finals. As far as the approach goes, we had a good midseason with some really good swims. We had some swims that left us with our heads scratching, but it was very obvious that when we got to the last day of midseason that the swimmers needed a little bit of time away. We took a much deserved break to be with family and friends, but coming back the team has been ready to go."
This weekend will see the Wingate Bulldogs make their return to the Maddox Student Activities Center for the first time since 2022. In that meet the Bulldogs took home the victory over the Eagles in a score 488-112.
In the CSCAA Top 25 Poll, Wingate's men's and women's squads both rank 7th in the nation, being the highest ranked SAC team in the nation. The Eagles women's team breached the Top 25 coming in at 17th and the men's team just outside at 28th.
"There is not much that you can say about Wingate without having to admit that they are a very good team," said Young. "For us, we always want to beat Wingate and go head-to-head with them. Without having our duel-meet with Wingate over the past two years has been felt and getting them back on the schedule is going to create a great atmosphere. We want to set ourselves up to be able to swim fast and the design of the meet offers that opportunity. This is going to be a fun meet, a very loud meet, and is hopefully going to serve as a good way to finish this semester."
Before the Eagles get more time off entering the Christmas break, there are a few swimmers looking to break out in the second half of the season. The men's squad is looking for big performances from junior Will Humphreys and sophomore Cameron Nichols.
"On the men's side, we're looking to Will Humphreys and Cameron Nichols to have a great second half, " Young said. "With Will coming off of hip surgery, for him to come back and do what he did at midseason, it's just a testament of the amount of work that he's been willing to do over the last year. Cameron Nicholes is one that every time he gets in the water he seems to learn something new about his stroke or about his race and how to fix it. He is a lot more aware of his body than when he first got here.
Looking at the women's side, the team is hoping for a standout second half from junior Emma Bowling and freshman Olivia Muir.
"Emma Bowling and Olivia Muir are kind of on the cusp of getting invited and yet their mindsets were not deterred at all when they were just off at midseason," said Young. "Now it's what we need to do over the coming weeks to figure out how to hone in on everything that is going to allow you to make it to nationals."
Carson-Newman looks to make a statement in the second half of the season against highly ranked Wingate beginning on Friday, Dec. 13th at 6:00pm - Saturday, Dec. 14th at 11:00am in the Maddox Student Activities Center in Jefferson City, Tenn.
For all the latest news and information on Carson-Newman athletics, go to CNEagles.com.
