Eagles head to midseason meet at U-Indy
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman swim is headed to the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center in Indianapolis, Ind. for a three-day midseason meet beginning this Friday, Nov. 17.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Carson-Newman swim is headed to the Ruth Lilly Fitness Center in Indianapolis, Ind. for a three-day midseason meet beginning this Friday, Nov. 17.
Carson-Newman swim is back in action this weekend at the University of Indianapolis. The Eagles will travel to U-Indy for a three-day-long dual meet against the Greyhounds.
"It's an awesome set up for this one. It's the first time we've had this type of set up for midseason, and there will be timed finals for all four sessions. It'll be one session Friday night, two sessions on Saturday, and then one more session Sunday morning. We are basically mimicking the conference schedule," head swim coach Ben Young said. "We're looking forward to seeing some fast swimming. We're putting the final touches on there today and tomorrow, and we head out Friday morning."
U-Indy men's swim is on a three-meet win streak after takinig down #6 Grand State Valley, #2 McKendree, and Lindenwood. The women are 2-2 overall while being 2-0 at home. Comparatively, the Eagles are 2-0 at home so far in the season as well.
"U-Indy is a fantastic team, and they are very deep as well. It's going to be a great meet and good atmosphere. It'll be our first time actually traveling to U-Indy's pool, so we are super excited for the opportunity to head up there and see something new," Young said.
C-N swim is coming off three dual meet victories and a third-place combined team finish at the recent Emory Invitational. The Eagles took down the Emory & Henry Wasps 387-134 to open the season before besting both Lees-McRae (320-85) and Mars Hill (256-149).
During the Emory Invitational, C-N men's swim finished third against Emory University, Georgia Southern, and Wingate. Standout performances included Daniel Ribeiro finishing first in the men's 100-yard freestyle with a finals time of 44.57. Teammate Arthur Gluzman came in second in 45.08. In the men's 1650-yard freestyle, Alonso Castro grabbed fifth in 16:20.01. Gluzman grabbed bronze in the men's 50 free in 20.70, followed by teammate Ribeiro who finished fourth in 21.10. Daniel de Oliveira took fifth in the event in 21.15. Jakov Igrec placed ninth in the men's 400-yard IM in 4:11.15. The men ended the second day of competition with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Benaiah McDowell competed with teammates Ribeiro, de Oliveira, and Gluzman to finish in 3:01.91.
"We started a little slow on Friday. Last year, we were fairly well rested going into that meet, but this year we were not in any way, shape, or form. We still suited up and had an opportunity to race. So, that was our conversation on Friday night, to attack the races and not be scared. We approached it much better on Saturday, and if you compare year-to-year, we were right on par with our times last year," Young said.
The women's team finished fourth at the invite. Martina Ivanova took home first in the 200-yard butterfly in 2:04.14. Breanna Belcher grabbed silver in the women's 100-yard breaststroke in 1:04.04. Chrisman Rand, Lily Parr, and Kennadi King all finished in the top-10 in the women's 50-yard freestyle. Rand swam the event in 24.08, Parr finished in 24.25, and King followed shortly behind in 24.32 seconds.
"Overall, it was a very positive experience. We experienced some sickness, but hopefully the experience was a bit of a confidence booster going into this weekend," Young said.
Last season, the Eagles attended the midseason meet at the Tennesse Invitational. The Eagles competed against the University of Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Michigan. In the 50-yard freestyle prelims, Parr recorded a personal best in 23.83, and Antonia Sanint beat her previous personal record with a time of 23.82. The women qualified for nationals in both the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard medley relay. Mandi Chadwell set a personal record in the women's 100-yard breaststroke finals in 1:07.48. Igrec beat his previous record in the 400-yard IM prelims with a time of 4:05.02. The Eagles left the midseason last year with numerous qualifying-time performances.
"On the men's side with our 200 and 400 medley relays, we are looking to qualify those. Those guys have been training super hard and fast right now. Ribeiro has come in this year and done a lot of really good things, and him and Gluzman have continued to train super hard side-by-side," Young said. "On the women's side, Kyla had a great end of the season last year. This year, coming off some injuries, bumps, and bruises, I'm excited to see her get up and race. Bre Belcher has been swimming incredibly well right now, as well as Chrisman and Kennadi. The list can go on. They continue to make me happy with what they are doing."
The Eagles are set to face off with the U-Indy Greyhounds this weekend beginning Friday, Nov. 17. Stay up to date on cneagles.com.
