JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman swim will compete against three different programs this weekend, beginning with a late evening match-up against Berry College on Friday, Jan. 26. The Eagles will head to Atlanta, Ga. on Saturday, Jan. 27 to face off with Georgia Tech and East Carolina University.
Carson-Newman swim will head to Rome, Ga. this Friday, Jan. 26 to compete against Berry College at 6:00 p.m. This will be the first time in program history that the Eagles will swim against the Vikings.
"It's going to be our first time swimming Berry," head swim coach Ben Young said. "We're happy that they were willing to host us. It's a fantastic pool and beautiful campus. We are excited to race them and see a new pool. Having the ability to swim in new pools is always nice because we are always having to adapts to different walls and different atmospheres all together".
On Saturday, Jan. 27, the Eagles will travel to Atlanta, Ga. to compete against Georgia Tech and East Carolina University. The meet will take place in the McAuley Aquatic Center and begin at 11:00 a.m.
"It's going to be fun to race Georgia Tech again," Young said. "I think this will be our third or fourth year in a row. It's going to be a lot of racing, but we are going to see a lot of racing here in a few weeks when we go to conference. It'll be a good dress rehearsal for that, and it'll be an opportunity for the team to learn how to piece some races together. With Georgia Tech and East Carolina both being Division I, you get that sense of professionalism. This is an opportunity for our swimmers to step up and compete against a higher level".
C-N men's swim will only race Georgia Tech, but the women will face off with ECU's 9-0 women's swim team.
"It's a good opportunity for us to see an all-women's team. It's the only time during the season that we will see that," Young said. "They are someone we've never raced before, just like with Berry. We've got a lot of swimmers on the bubble for nationals. We've got Kyla Blakemore, Kennadi King, and Lily Parr who are right on the bubble for a lot of their events. Then, we are throwing into the mix people like Emma Bowling and Antonia Sanint who are looking for those relay spots. This is a great opportunity for them".
Althought the Eagles lack experience against Berry College and ECU, the team raced Georgia Tech in January of last year. C-N left the meet with numerous spots on the podium.
Blakemore won gold in the women's 200-yard backstroke in 2:00.91. Lillian Hilt placed fourth in the event with a time of 2:08.25. Hilt also placed third in the women's 200-yard IM (2:15.63) finishing shortly behind her teammate Chrisman Rand who finished in 2:10.99 for silver. Tyler Schehr and Will Humphreys contributed to a second-place finish in the mens' 400-yard medley relay with a time of 3:22.21.Humphreys also placed third in the men's 200-yard butterfly in 1:55.24, and Eli Poole finished fourth in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:50.93. Arthur Gluzman stood on the podium for his third-place finish in the men's 50-yard freestyle (20.84).
"Georiga Tech has a great atmosphere all together," Young said. "We're always gracious to them that they continue to invite us back. It's a great pool with great competition. More than anything, it's an opportunity for us to see what that standard of swimming is outside of the Division II world. With all of the variables coming into that meet, it's going to be nice to see how they react and respond to that level of competition".
Carson-Newman swim is coming off a senior night victory over Mars Hill and Emmanuel University. The Eagles bested Mars Hill 277-130 and Emmanuel 259-150.
"Coming off of that, I think the team is in high spirits," Young said. "I think we are in a good place, so we are excited to race this weekend and see where we are at heading into conference. We are going in with the mindset this weekend that we are here to race and swim fast. It's just a good opportunity for us to see some different racing".
Carson-Newman swim will be back in action this Friday, Jan. 26 at Berry College. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
