JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman swim team returns to action in a tri-meet against Emmanuel and the Savannah College of Art and Design in Franklin Springs, Georgia at the Shaw Aquatic Center.
C-N, ranked 17th on the women's side and 16th on the men's end, is coming off a dominant 319-82 drubbing of Mars Hill on Saturday, Jan. 11 on Senior Day in Jefferson City.
It was the team's first home event after a hectic winter break that saw many students travel home, return to Tennessee and then participate in a dual-meet against Lynn University in South Florida on Jan. 4.
"This week, for me, is just getting them back into the routine of practice, back into the routine of school," Carson-Newman coach Jordan Taylor said. "We want to recover and relax a bit going into the meet this week."
SCAD is a member of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference despite being a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics which is looked at as a tier below the NCAA.
The Bees are the No. 2 team in the nation at that level. SCAD was the top-ranked team in the country earlier in the season and currently holds the longest streak of top-10 national ranking appearances with 42.
SCAD won the NAIA National Championships in 2018 and 2016 and was a runner-up in 2019, 2017 and 2015.
"They have a lot of internationals on their team, a lot of top-level athletes," Taylor said. "They know how to race. They're very proud of being one of the best NAIA schools in the country and they love the opportunity to go up against top NCAA Division II schools."
Emmanuel, a member of Conference Carolinas, is an undefeated 9-0 in the dual-meets it has participated in this season.
"These two teams are really strong," Taylor said. "This is our last chance to race before conference so I'm expecting the team to post the fastest times of the season as far as dual-meets."
Like any opponent, both schools have their strengths and weaknesses.
"For Emmanuel, their guy's side is very strong, they have like six unbelievably fast guys" Taylor said. "Their girl's team is not super strong, it still needs to be developed, they don't have that many numbers on the girl's side. They have one or two girls that could go to Nationals potentially."
Taylor intends to use this meet as a barometer for the extent to which his athletes need to rest and recover in order to perform their best at the BMC Championships from Feb. 13 to Feb 16. In Charlotte, N.C.
"If you're swimming fast, it's easy to keep you swimming fast," Taylor said. "If they go in and they try hard this weekend and their times are not very good, that means I've got to rest them more, I've got to be a little bit more cautious with the work we do."
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman swim team all across C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
