February 3, 2025

Eagles Make the Voyage To N.C. For SAC Championships

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman makes the voyage to Greensboro, N.C. for the South Atlantic Conference Swimming Championships beginning this Tuesday, Feb. 4 running through Saturday, Feb. 8.

"Being on pool deck with the team this past week, you can really tell that the energy is shifting a bit," head coach Ben Young said. "They've got a bit more energy and the pre-meet jitters, but ultimately you can tell that everyone is excited to get to conference. We're excited to be a part of that atmosphere again. It only comes once a year but for us it's always a really fun time. Magical moments are made there and we're excited to see what we are able to do this year."

The Eagles regular season comes to a close with the SAC Championships beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Greensboro Aquatics Center in Greensboro, N.C. The team is set to face many familiar conference opponents this week with five teams competing. The five teams competing are Wingate, Catawba, Mars Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne and Emory & Henry.

Events one and two which are the men's and women's 800-yard freestyle relay will kickoff at 6pm on Tuesday night. The other days of competition are slated to begin with prelims at 10am followed by finals kicking off at 5pm.

With the Eagles coming off of a victorious senior night over Mars Hill and Emmanuel a few weeks before the SAC Championships, Ben Young has been focused on preparation for the heightened competition awaiting the team in North Carolina.

"At the beginning of the season we start out with a classroom session and we take the time to map out the full season," said Young. "SAC Championships, Nationals and mid-season are the ones that we have highlighted. Ultimately, it's Conference and Nationals that everything we do points toward. Understanding that it is a different style of meet, being five days with prelims and finals will help us treat this like any other meet even though it's not. We're making sure the details don't change, the races don't change and we've done these races over and over throughout the season."

Last season's South Atlantic Conference Championships saw the Eagles secure second place on the women's side and third place on the men's. The women's squad won second place with a final score of 1,557 points, falling behind the first place Wingate team racking up a score of 1,894. Standout performances came by the way of Breanna Belcher with her 4rd place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:19.30. Belcher also earned NCAA DII "B" Cut for her performance in the event. Martina Ivanova won gold in the 200-yard butterfly in a time of 2:04.69. Maria Tirulli locked up a top three finish in the 200-yard butterfly. The team ended the competition with five gold medals, four silver medals, and seven bronze.

The men's team rounded out the top three teams with a score of 1,185 falling behind second place Catawba (1,349) and first place Wingate (1,870). The team secured a total of two gold, seven silver and three bronze medals. Daniel de Oliveira stood out in the 100-yard butterfly earning first place in a time of 46.91 and a NCAA DII "B" Cut for his performance. Arthur Gluzman locked down a first place finish and NCAA DII "B" Cut for his performance in the 50-yard freestyle in a time of 20.13. Tyler Schehr nabbed third in the 200-yard backstroke with a final time of 1:49.94.

The Eagles have a tough road ahead of them entering SAC Championship competition with both Wingate and Catawba being nationally ranked in the CSCAA Top 25 poll. C-N did not face off against the Catawba Indians during the season. In the two-day home meet against Wingate in mid December, the Eagles women's stunned the then #7 ranked Wingate squad with a score of 162-152. CSCAA Top 25 Poll HERE.

"Year after year Wingate continues to be an absolute force," Young said. "We know what we're getting with them and the atmosphere when they were here was fantastic. Catawba is an up and coming program and they are doing a lot of good work over there. For us, it is realizing that we have been left out of that conversation all year long. Rightfully so in some sense, but this weekend will show just how close we really are. Seeing where they are ranked and where we really should be ranked. We don't want to focus on the national ranking and let that go by the wayside…so we're going to see how we stack up this week."

Carson-Newman makes the trip to Greensboro, N.C. on Tuesday, Feb. 4 through Saturday, Feb. 8 for the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Championships.

To keep up to date with Carson-Newman Swimming, you can follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Facebook by following Carson-Newman Athletics. You can also log on online at cneagles.com.