Wingate, N.C.----The nationally-ranked Wingate University men’s and women’s swimming teams swept a dual meet over Bluegrass Mountain Conference foe Lenoir-Rhyne University Saturday afternoon in the Wingate University Natatorium. The number five Bulldog men outscored the visiting Bears 112-77, while the number 22 Wingate women earned a 137-45 victory.

Wingate celebrated Senior Day Saturday, honoring six seniors during the afternoon’s first break. The Bulldogs visit NCAA Division I UNC Wilmington Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. Wingate will host the Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet Feb. 15-18 at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte.
 
#22 Wingate women 137, Lenoir-Rhyne 45
 
Wingate seniors Jennifer Galloway (Snellville, Ga.), Malin Kersmark (Malin-Bjarred, Sweden) and Brittany Pales (Moon Township, Pa.) combined for four first-place ribbons and one second-place performance to lead the Bulldogs. Wingate won 10 of 11 events; the Bulldogs compiled five 1-2-3 finishes Saturday.
 
The senior trio started the day by pairing with freshman Jasmine Arzadon (Lorton, Va.) to touch first in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:56.19. On the other end, the three four-year letter winners teamed with sophomore Amanda Gilbert (Metairie, La.) to conclude the meet with a victory in the 200 Freestyle Relay (1:43.93).
 
Both Galloway and Kersmark earned one individual victory each. Galloway won the gold medal in the 50 Freestyle (26.52). Pales was second (26.57) in the sprint event. Kersmark touched first in the 100 Backstroke (1:01.48). Wingate’s senior trio has helped the Bulldogs finish fourth, third and second, respectively, in their three Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet appearances.
 
Bulldog sophomore Cameron Washburn (Wilmington, N.C.) collected two individual triumphs. The New Hanover High School product won the 200 Freestyle (1:58.60) and the 100 Freestyle (55.24). Four other Bulldogs won one event each.
 
Wingate junior Paige Schmidt (Clearwater, Fla.) won the 1000 Freestyle (10:39.77), while sophomore Alexandra Andrechuk (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) took the 200 Individual Medley crown (2:18.12). Sophomore Valerie Dembny (Bremen, Germany) touched first in the 100 Butterfly (1:01.27), while freshman Victoria Tormenti (Willow Spring, N.C.) was triumphant in the 100 Breaststroke (1:12.62).
 
Lenoir-Rhyne freshman Chelsea Kyle (Knoxville, Tenn.) won the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:23.00. Kyle was third to Wingate’s Washburn and Dembny in the 200 Freestyle (2:00.77). Wingate had nine exhibition swims in the final four women’s events.
 
#5 Wingate men 112, Lenoir-Rhyne 77
 
The Wingate men utilized a similar Senior Day script, as elder statesmen Danny Palmiotto (Brookfield, Conn.), Lee Sousa (Cornelius, N.C.) and Santino Viselli (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) combined for two relay victories, two individual triumphs and one third-place showing. All total, the Bulldogs won eight of the 11 events Saturday. The Wingate men had nine exhibition swims in the final four events.
 
Palmiotto, Sousa and Viselli teamed with freshman David Collum (DeLand, Fla.) to open the day with a victory in the 200 Medley Relay (1:39.54). The three senior amigos concluded the day with junior Rory Julyan (Cape Town, South Africa) in a gold-medal 200 Freestyle Relay performance (1:28.56). Palmiotto, Sousa and Viselli and their teammates have won three BMC titles in the last three years.
 
Palmiotto took the checkered flag in the 100 Butterfly (53.91), with Collum collecting the silver medal in the same event (54.36). Sousa touched first in the 100 Backstroke (53.55). Viselli received a bronze medal in the 200 Freestyle (1:53.64), while sophomore Jeffrey Auten (Columbia, S.C.) collected the 200 Freestyle silver medal (1:51.21).
 
Six Bulldogs won individual events Saturday. In addition to Palmiotto, Sousa and Viselli, Julyan also participated in two victories, as he won the 50 Freestyle (21.61). Sophomore Marko Blazevski (Skopje, Macedonia) touched first in the 100 Freestyle (48.29). The 2011 NCAA Division II national champion in the 400 Individual Medley, Blazevski also added a bronze medal in the 50 Freestyle (22.85).
 
Wingate junior Cole Dutton (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) led a 1-2-3 Bulldog finish in the 1000 Freestyle with a time of 9:55.03. Freshmen Kyle Riordan (Canton, Ohio) and James Goodin (Marietta, Ga.) were second and third, respectively, in the distance fest (10:16.87, 10:32.16). Bulldog sophomore Tim Kniffler (Mulheim, Germany) received a gold medal in the 200 Individual Medley (1:55.05), while junior Spencer Waganaar (Satellite Beach, Fla.) was the silver medalist (1:56.68).
 
Lenoir-Rhyne won three events. The Bears finished 1-2-3 in the 500 Freestyle, with freshman Jay Stancliff (Advance, N.C.) touching first in 5:24.20. Sophomore Niall Courtney (Hendersonville, N.C.) was second (5:29.73), while freshman Mitchell Byrd (Kennesaw, Ga.) was third (5:58.12).
 
Sophomore Shane Courtney (Hendersonville, N.C.) led a 1-2 Bear blitz in the 100 Breaststroke with a triumphant time of 1:07.92. Freshman Grant Guittard (Valdese, N.C.) was second in 1:09.90. Classmate Nathan Sears (Charlotte, N.C.) collected a gold medal in the 200 Freestyle with a 1:49.59 clocking. Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Catawba College Saturday, Jan. 28.