COCOA BEACH, Fla. – The Carson-Newman swim team kicked off the 2015 calendar year in style by picking up 29 wins in the 30 events Saturday evening in a duel meet against the Mount Union Purple Raiders at the Cocoa Beach Aquatic Center in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
The Eagles picked up the 383.5-174.5 combined win over the Division-III Purple Raiders. The women's team won 191-88 while the men swam to a 192.5-86.5 victory.
Junior Kent Eldreth (Knoxville, Tenn.) had three wins for the men's team, while three members of the women's squad were about of four wins for C-N.
"The Carson-Newman Eagles continued to show our toughness tonight," coach Paige McCord said after the meet. "The young men and women not only pushed limits of exhaustion through the extreme challenge of weeks of winter training with little rest, but also stepped up and competed to get their hand on the wall first. Things are looking good."
On the men's side, the team kicked off the meet with a win in the 200 Medley Relay. Freshman Paul Ungur (Baie Mare, Romania) Eldreth, freshman Andrew Wheeler (Newnan, Ga.) and sophomore Samuel Schechter (Knoxville, Tenn.) joined forces for a time of 1:37.15.
The Eagles swept the podium in three events. In the 100 Free, senior Ben Young (Morristown, Tenn.) picked up the victory with a 47.63 time. Sophomore Connor Graham (Irmo, S.C.) and freshman Ben McCrary (Woodbury, Tenn.) placed third. Ungur placed first in the 200 Back with a time of 1:51.13, which was 14 seconds quicker than the second-place swimmer. Sophomore Manny Mendoza (Round Rock, Texas) was the second-place swimmer and freshman Davis Vincent(Loganville, Ga.) was third. In the 200 Individual Medley, Eldreth led the charge with a 1:57.00. Senior Stephen Parsons (Auburn, Ala.) and Vincent rounded out the Carson-Newman sweep.
Mendoza (Round Rock, Texas) returned from an injury to pick up his first win of the season in the 1000 Free with a season-quick 10:10.72.
In the 200 Free, the Eagles claimed three of the top four spots. McCrary won his first individual event of his career by swimming the event in 1:49.69. Parsons and sophomore Tommy Bourgeois(Kingsport, Tenn.) finished third and fourth respectively, less than one second behind McCrary.
Vincent won the 100 Back with a time of 57.06, while sophomore Graham (Irmo, S.C.) placed second for the second time on the day with a 57.72.
Bourgeois picked up two individual wins of his own in the 200 Fly (2:01.50) and the 500 Free (5:05.39).
Wheeler won the 100 Fly with a 52.31 time, while school record holder Ungur finished one spot behind him in second.
In the sprint 50 Free, Schechter took home the victory with a time of 22.33.
Young, Graham, McCrary and Mendoza ended the meet with the team's second relay win of the evening in the 400 Free Relay with a time of 3:20.08.
Sophomore Amanda Henderson who won or was a member of five events led the women's team. Freshmen Margaret Stansberry (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Maggie Melhorn (Knoxville, Tenn.) followed right behind Henderson with four wins apiece.
The three combined with sophomore Samantha Starnes (Knoxville, Tenn.) to win the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:51.90.
Starnes and Stansberry followed up that relay win with another in the 200 Free Relay by swimming a 1:41.25. Sophomore Natalie Burnett (Sevierville, Tenn.) and senior Aly Kaywork (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) were the other two members of the 200 Free Relay team.
The last women's relay win featured Melhorn, Stansberry, Burnett and sophomore Taylor Bing (Memphis, Tenn.) in the 400 Free Relay. The Eagles won the event with a time of 3:46.31.
Henderson's other wins came in the: 100 Back (1:01.21), 200 Back (2:16.55) and the 200 Individual Medley (2:18.08).
Melhorn picked up two individual wins of her own in the 100 Breast (1:10.50) and the distance swim in the 500 Free (5:15.82).
Freshman Courtlyn Fields (Anderson, S.C.) picked up two wins in the 1000 Free (11:13.34) and 200 Fly (2:15.33). Sophomore Mary Grace Arnold (Chattanooga, Tenn.) placed second in the 200 Fly with a time of 2:27.70.
Sophomore Nancy Claire Smith (Franklin, Tenn.) led the sweeping of the podium for the Eagles in the 200 Freestyle. Smith swam the event in 1:58.88. Freshman Lexy Raybon (Sarasota, Fla.) and Bing followed up Smith to take second and third-place. Smith also picked up a win in the 200 Breast by swimming a 2:31.84.
Stansberry also won the 100 Free with a time of 53.88. Starnes picked up a win in the sprint 50 Free by swimming a 25.23. Burnett won the 100 Fly in 1:01.19.
The Eagles next take to the pool on January 16th in a tri-meet against King and Emory & Henry in Kingsport, Tenn.
