Video: Jordan Taylor Wingate Preview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.– The Carson-Newman swim team will look to continue their strong start to the 2020-21 season and improve upon their imposing home record (24-3) when they host a familiar foe in the Wingate Bulldogs this Saturday for a two-session meet at 12pm and 4pm at the MSAC. FOR THIS MEET, NO FANS WILL BE ALLOWED INSIDE!!! The event will be livestreamed on the Eagle Sports Network via cneagles.com/live
The two squads met in Jefferson City back in 2018 with the teams splitting team results. The men's team (ranked #20 at the time) pulled the upset over the Bulldogs (ranked #10) by a score of 170.5 to 144.50. On the women's side, the Eagles to the Bulldogs by a score of 199.5-115.50. This was the last time any Carson-Newman team fell at home. The Eagles hold an imposing 24-3 home record for dual meets and will look to keep the streak alive when the Bulldogs come to town.
"During this year, I've looked to strengthen our team by having strong competition for all our meets and even giving us a position where we might get beat" Carson-Newman coach Jordan Taylor said. "They'll push it out of our comfort zone and help us see where we are at heading toward Conference in April."
Carson-Newman comes into the meet holding national rankings on both sides. The women's team is currently ranked #4 in the nation for all Division II schools, while the men have grasped a #5 ranking among all Division II squads as well. Last weekend, the Eagles captured a 381-141 total team victory over Milligan, with the Eagles winning 23 out of the total 28 events.
The Eagles had impressive individual performances across the board, including performances by Joey Clemmer and Kyla Blakemore. Clemmer gathered two individual event wins and collected a valuable third-place finish in a later event as well. On the women's side, Blakemore started off her collegiate career strong, capturing individual wins in both the 100 and 200-yd backstroke.
Coach Taylor knows the incoming Bulldogs will push his team and give them an intense competition throughout all events. While this is Wingate's first meet this season, the Bulldogs have been a consistent presence at both the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships (top-5 finishes in each of the last five years) and have made their presence known at the National Championships as well.
""Welcoming Wingate back is exciting for me and the team. They're one of the best teams in the nation and have been for a while" Taylor said. "We've had close competitions over the last couple years from dual meet to Nationals."
Conversely, Taylor believes the Eagles will be ready and eager to compete against the Bulldogs and see where they truly lie in Division II swimming.
"I'm expecting this weekend to be competitive all the way through. Every point and race will be hard-fought" Taylor said. "Anyone who tunes in on Saturday will see close and fast racing which is what we want at any level."
Be sure to tune into this weekend's dual meet via the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live. Also, be sure to keep up with the Eagles swim team all across C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
