Eagles attempt to soar at Nationals in Birmingham, Ala.
The time has come for Carson-Newman Swimming to make their mark on the Nationals stage from Birmingham, Alabama.
Day One Prelims (Men) | Day One Finals (Men)
Day One Prelims (Women) | Day One Finals (Women)
Day Two Prelims (Men) | Day Two Finals (Men)
Day Two Prelims (Women) | Day Two Finals (Women)
Day Three Prelims (Men) | Day Three Finals (Men)
Day Three Prelims (Women) | Day Three Finals (Women)
Final Day Prelims (Men) | Final Day Finals (Men)
Final Day Prelims (Women) | Final Day Finals (Women)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The time has come for Carson-Newman Swimming to make their mark on the Nationals stage from Birmingham, Alabama. The four-day event, March 17 to March 20, sees an octave of Eagles take flight in a variety of events in hopes of calling themselves "National Champion" and/or "All-American."
This is the fourth straight season head coach Jordan Taylor will take at least seven swimmers to Nationals with the program making the trip for the sixth time in eight years. Carson-Newman men enter Nationals ranked 12th in Division II while Carson-Newman women still grasp a top-10 slot as the number nine team in all of Division II.
This year has seen the Eagles soar to success against opponents such as Emmanuel or Mars Hill, while also grasping at the feet of defeat by conference foes such as Wingate and Queens. C-N is primed and ready for anything come Wednesday as they not only look to place high in events but prove their place in all of Division II. When Carson-Newman hits the pool tomorrow morning, six of the nine qualifiers will be either freshman or sophomore as well as five of the athletes will be on the women's side of competition.
Jordan Taylor has been a big proponent to the youth of his team and how impressed not only the coaches, but other teammates are when watching the younger athletes compete. "Having this many athletes qualify is nice, but with six of the eight competing in individual events being underclassmen, it just shows our depth and quality of swimming we strive for at Carson-Newman," head coach Jordan Taylor said. "It just means a lot for us to keep our numbers as high as they have been despite the total number of qualifiers being lowered this year."
Sophomore Raphael Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil) has collected multiple school and program records this year and will look to finish his second year as an Eagle off with a new title. His 2021 season will end with him seeing action in three lengths of the freestyle: the 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard freestyle, and 200-yard freestyle. Lima is currently sitting as the second fastest in school history for the 50-yard freestyle after swimming 19.96 at the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships. Lima also amassed a time of 20.02 at Conferences which is fifth fastest for an Eagle.
Lima has dominated the 100-yard freestyle as he holds three of C-N's top five times in the event, including the new school record (43.62) set at the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships. Earlier in the season, Lima set the third fastest time in the nation with a blazing time of 43.88 against Wingate. That stood as the second fastest, now third-fastest for any Eagle in the event.
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) November 14, 2020
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In his final freestyle length, the 200-yard, Lima holds three of the top five C-N times. He once again shattered another school record at 2021 BMC Championships when he swam a 1:35.71 time, almost two seconds faster (1:37.19) than his own previous record. Lima also holds the fourth fastest time for the event, coming in at 1:38.69 on the leaderboard. Although he is not competing in the event this year, junior Matthew George (Manchester, England) is the third fastest as an Eagle in the 200-yard freestyle.
Lima's events take place as follows: 50-yard freestyle on Wednesday, 200-yard freestyle on Thursday, and the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday.
George may not be competing in the 200-yard freestyle, but he is sure to make waves in the 500-yard freestyle. In program history, George is the record holder at 4:26.26 while holding steady as third (4:28.57) and fourth fastest (4:29.75) for the event. His 2021 qualifying time of 4:28.57 is 17th fastest in the nation and George is hoping to make sure he stays in the top-20 after a successful Nationals trip.
George will see action as part of the men's 500-yard freestyle when the event commences from Birmingham, Ala. on Friday, March 19.
The final Eagle on the men's side of action will be making his Division II National Swimming and Diving Championships debut. Freshman Denilson Cyprianos (Bulawayo, Matabeleland, Zimbabwe) holds the seventh fastest time in the 200-yard backstroke at 1:45.44, while also having the time place him as third fastest in C-N history. Cyprianos will also compete in the men's 1000-yard freestyle to start his time at Nationals. The freshman only joined the team after Christmas and has been quick to make his impact strong and profound, hoping to keep it rolling over the four-day event as a competitor and as a team supporter.
Cyprianos makes his 2021 Nationals debut in the men's 1000-yard freestyle on Wednesday before finishing his two events with the 200-yard backstroke on Saturday, March 20.
"In a normal season, we would be breaking school records for the amount of swimmers who qualified," Taylor said. "I know the athletes who made it are ready to go and will put their best effort forward once the action begins tomorrow through Saturday night."
On the women's side, sophomore Manon Compagner (Balkburg, The Netherlands) has gained an invitation to Nationals for the second straight season. After having her chance cut short last season, she will take to the pool for four different events over the four-day duration. Compagner strives to keep her hot streak in the women's 100-yard butterfly rolling after qualifying with a time of 54.72, the third fastest in C-N history. She also holds four of the top five event times for an Eagle.
Beyond the 100-yard butterfly, Compagner will be in action for the 100-yard freestyle. In the event, she is the seventh fastest for all of Division II and second fastest in C-N history at 50.23. Although it is not top-five for C-N, Compagner qualified with the 14th fastest DII time of 23.47 in the women's 50-yard freestyle. Finally, the 100-yard backstroke holds Compagner as the 20th time in all of Division II and third fastest in Eagles history at 56.14.
Compagner will be in action as follows: 50-yard freestyle on Wednesday, 100-yard butterfly on Thursday, 100-yard backstroke on Friday, and the 100-yard freestyle on Saturday.
When talking about consistency and improvement, the first name of many which comes to mind is junior Meredith Ginn (Ocala, Fla.). Ginn will see action in both the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley while also going for another top-time in the women's 200-yard breaststroke. Ginn, thanks to her time at the 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships, is the fourth fastest in Division II and the current school record for the women's 200-yard individual medley. She and teammate CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) each hold two of the top five times for the event. Ginn also holds a top-five time in the women's 400-yard individual medley for C-N as she qualified at 4:23.04 at Conference. As for the 200-yard breaststroke, Ginn is currently the 13th fastest in all of Division II at 2:17.09, which places her second in program history.
Ginn will start her 2021 Nationals competition with the 200-yard individual medley Wednesday before having the 400-yard individual medley take place on Thursday and the 200-yard breaststroke taking action on the last day of competition, Saturday March 20.
Ginn will be in the pool as follows: 200-yard individual medley on Wednesday, 400-yard individual medley on Thursday, and the 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday to wrap up competition.
In her last opportunity to shine on the National stage as an Eagle, senior CJ Jensen (Copenhagen, Denmark) hopes to further cement herself in Carson-Newman history in three different events: the 200 and 400 IM and the 200-yard butterfly. Along with Ginn, Jensen holds two of the top five times for C-N history in the women's 200-yard individual medley. Her 2021 qualifying time of 2:03.26 placed her at fifth in C-N history, but last year at Nationals, she set the second fastest time in program history at 2:02.92. For the 400-yard individual medley, Jensen jumps into competition with the school record of 4:20.03, placing her in the top-five of all Division II times this year. Jensen maintains three of the top five 400-yard IM times as an Eagle. Finally, an event which Jensen has seen great success in during her time at C-N, the 200-yard butterfly, finds her qualifying in 2:02.27, the ninth fastest time in DII and the third-fastest in C-N history.
Jensen will wrap up her time as an Eagle as follows: 200-yard individual medley Wednesday, 400-yard individual medley on Thursday, and the 200-yard butterfly on Friday.
The Eagles will have sophomore Kailee Morgan (Greenville, S.C.) looking to secure success in her first full Nationals experience. The Greenville, S.C. native will compete in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke. Her qualifying time of 1:02.02 in the 100-yard breaststroke is second fastest in school history and positions Morgan with four of the top five program times in the event as well as third fastest in all of Division II. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Morgan qualified in 2:17.98 which is the third-fastest in C-N program history and 20th fastest in DII.
Morgan will compete on the following days: 100-yard breaststroke on Friday and 200-yard breaststroke on Saturday.
The final Eagle who qualified is sophomore Rachel Peden (Boiling Springs, N.C.) who will compete in the 1000 freestyle, the 400 IM, and the 1650 freestyle. When it comes to the 1000-yard freestyle, Peden is the name to watch out for no matter the time or place. She turned in two new top-five program times for the event at 2021 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championships, including breaking the school record by Lexy Raybon in 2015 by just under 10 whole seconds. Her time slots Peden as top-five in Division II in the event. She is just as phenomenal for the longer distance as Peden is top-10 in Division II for the 1650-yard freestyle at 16:53.40, which is also the school record by just around 19 seconds. Finally, Peden joined the C-N top-five in the 400-yard individual medley while placing herself as top-10 in Division II with her qualifying time of 4:23.26.
Peden's time at Nationals includes: 1,000-yard freestyle (w/time trials) on Wednesday, the 400-yard individual medley on Thursday, and the 1,650-yard freestyle (w/time trials) on Saturday.
"As a whole, we have been preparing for this moment and are ready to compete on the national stage against the highest level of opponents we've seen," Taylor said. "Our team is ready and I'm excited to see how these next few days turn out for them and our program."
The Eagles will also see action in the men's 200-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday, the 400-yard medley relay on Thursday, 800-yard freestyle relay on Friday, and the 400-yard freestyle relay on Saturday.
On the women's side, the Eagles qualify for the 200-yard freestyle relay on Wednesday and 400-yard medley relay on Thursday.
Freshman Thanos Diamanditis (Greece) is set as an alternate in the men's 200-yard breaststroke.
For a season like no other, Taylor's squad hope to make the most of the opportunity and finish the season as they started, stronger than before and putting their best effort in every event.
Stay tuned to cneagles.com and ncaa.com as they announce their live stats, video, and meet schedule for the entire week.
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