Charlotte, N.C.----The number two Wingate University men defeated number four Queens University of Charlotte 140-105 Wednesday afternoon at the Levine Center. The number two Queens women edged number three Wingate 123-122 in a nail-biter which came down to the final event (complete results).
 
"This was a pretty exciting meet," Wingate head coach Kirk Sanocki says. "It was back-and-forth the entire afternoon. This meet was like a classic boxing match…Queens would touch us out, we would touch them out…each team took the other team's best shot."
 
"We don't like losing," Sanocki says. "It's been a long-time since we had a nail-biter. We had fun."
 
#2 Queens (N.C.) 123, #3 Wingate 122

"We needed to win the 800 Freestyle Relay to win the women's meet," Sanocki says. "Our women's team swam hard. The coaching staff saw many good things today from our team."
 
In the aforementioned 800 Freestyle Relay, Queens sophomore Caroline Arakelian (Livonia, Mich.) opened the race with a 1:52.67 200 (an NCAA Division II "B" cut) to help the Royals post a victorious 7:49.37. Wingate's quartet was second with a time of 7:59.65.
 
Wingate sophomores Ana Fish (Carthage, N.C.) and Olga Kosheleva (Yekaterinburg, Russia) won two events each for the visiting Bulldogs. Fish won the 50 Freestyle (24.64) and the 100 Freestyle (54.21), a repeat of her performance in the five-time quad meet Friday and Saturday.
 
Kosheleva claimed gold medals in the 100 Breaststroke (1:06.93) and the 200 Breaststroke (2:26.06). The two victories (with personal-best times) are Kosheleva's first two triumphs as a Bulldog.
 
Bulldog senior Katie Pheil (Ocala, Fla.) and redshirt sophomore Julie Wessler (Sprockhövel, Germany) earned one individual victory each. Pheil touched first in the 200 Freestyle (1:52.27), while Wessler endured for triumph in the 1000 Freestyle (10:32.09).
 
Pheil was second (to Arakelian) in the 200 Backstroke (2:07.72). Wessler received a silver medal in the 500 Freestyle (5:10.58) and a bronze medal in the 200 Butterfly (2:11.22). For Queens, freshman Hannah Peiffer (Hixson, Tenn.) won three individual events, while Arakelian posted three NCAA Division II "B" cut times.
 
#2 Wingate men 140, #4 Queens (N.C.) 105
 
Wingate senior Marko Blazevski (Skopje, Macedonia) won three events, while sophomore Dylon Johnson (Fletcher, N.C.) claimed two gold medals for the victorious Bulldogs. Wingate won eight of the 13 events Wednesday.
 
Blazevski touched first in the 1000 Freestyle (9:33.19), the 200 Individual Medley (1:53.70) and the 500 Freestyle (4:39.85). Johnson was triumphant in the 200 Freestyle (1:42.96) and the 100 Freestyle (47.45).
 
"Dylon stepped up big time today," Sanocki says. "Marko is Marko. Today is a great example why he is an Olympian, a two-time NCAA champion and an All-American. We put him where we need him…and he shines."
 
Bulldog senior Reed Miller (Mobile, Ala.) won his signature event, touching first in the 50 Freestyle (21.42). He was third in a tightly-contested 100 Freestyle (47.95). Sophomore Roman Kanyuka (Moscow, Russia) won the 200 Breaststroke (2:04.67) and earned the 100 Breaststroke silver medal (57.55). Freshman Evan Kolovich (New Market, Md.) was first in the 200 Butterfly (1:53.98) and second in the 100 Butterfly (51.81).
 
Wingate senior Tim Kniffler (Mulheim, Germany) recorded three second-place finishes. He was the silver medalist in the 100 Backstroke (52.40), the 200 Individual Medley (1:55.07) and the 200 Backstroke (1:54.53). Queens freshman Matthew Josa (Charlotte, N.C.) posted an NCAA Division II "A" cut on his way to victory in the 100 Butterfly (47.91).
 
"Our men performed well today," Sanocki says. "The difference…a few things went our way at critical times."

Both Bulldog teams will return to action Nov. 22-24, as Wingate hosts the annual Fall Frenzy Invitational at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in downtown Charlotte. Thirteen schools will send teams to the event, including Wingate, Queens, Carson-Newman, Catawba, College of Charleston, Gardner-Webb, Georgia Southern, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill, North Florida, Pfeiffer, St. Andrews and Soka (Calif.).