Wilmington, N.C.----The UNC Wilmington men's and women's swimming teams earned two hard-fought victories over Wingate University Saturday at the Seahawk Natatorium. The UNCW men edged Wingate 138.5-121.5, while the Seahawk women defeated the Bulldogs 149-108. Wingate senior Marko Blazevski (Skopje, Macedonia) won three men's events: the 1000 and the 500 Freestyle distance races and the 400 Individual Medley (meet results).
 
"(Today) was not our best day on the stop watch," Wingate head coach Kirk Sanocki says. "This was our first meet during our most difficult training of the year and the racing rust was apparent."
 
Sanocki found many positives Saturday. "The attitude remained upbeat," Sanocki says. "This should carry us to improved performances over the next two weeks. I feel confident we will be back on track for the championship portion of our season."
 
UNC Wilmington men 138.5, #5 Wingate 121.5
 
Blazevski touched first in the 1000 Freestyle (9:36.66), the 500 Freestyle (4:36.43) and the 400 Individual Medley (4:01.72). In addition, he swam the third leg on Wingate's victorious 400 Freestyle Relay team (3:12.12). He was joined on the 400 Free Relay quartet by sophomore Dylon Johnson (Fletcher, N.C.), senior Reed Miller (Mobile, Ala.) and junior Issam Zeraidi (Brussels, Belgium).
 
Bulldog sophomore Roman Kanyuka (Moscow, Russia) won both breaststroke events. He claimed the gold medal in the 100 (57.26) and the 200 (2:05.79). Kanyuka swam the second leg on Wingate's second place 400 Medley Relay team (3:27.56). Zeraidi, senior Tim Kniffler (Mulheim, Germany) and freshman Evan Kolovich (New Market, Md.) completed the Bulldog 400 Medley Relay quartet.
 
Kolovich was Wingate's other individual winner, as he took the checkered flag in the 200 Butterfly (1:54.81). Kolovich collected a bronze medal in the 100 Butterfly (52.41). Johnson also had two top three individual performances, as he was second in the 200 Freestyle (1:44.78) and third in the 100 Freestyle (47.89).
 
UNC Wilmington women 149, #3 Wingate 108
 
Wingate freshman Sofia Petrenko (Arkhangelsk, Russia) will long remember her inaugural event as a Bulldog, as she claimed three first-place individual finishes. Petrenko outdistanced the competition in the 200 Freestyle (1:55.98), the 200 Butterfly (2:09.12) and the 400 Indivdiual Medley (4:35.20). She won the 200 Freestyle by .01 of a second. Petrenko swam the first leg as the Bulldogs won the 400 Freestyle Relay (3:39.96).
 
Petrenko was joined in the 400 Free Relay by sophomores Ana Fish (Carthage, N.C.) and Rita Koryukova (Omsk, Russia) and senior Charlotte Cornet (Brussels, Belgium). Koryukova was also a member of Wingate's second place 400 Medley Relay quartet (3:57.68). Her teammates included freshman Jessika Weiss (Macon, Ga.) and seniors Valerie Dembny (Bremen, Germany) and Katie Pheil (Ocala, Fla.). Individually, Koryukova led a two-three-four Wingate finish in the 100 Backstroke with her time of 59.98.
 
Pheil won the 100 Freestyle with a time of 53.05. She was third to Petrenko and UNC Wilmington senior Emily Schwartz (Solon, Ohio) in the 200 Freestyle. Pheil's bronze medal time was 1:56.56.
 
Dembny collected two silver medals Saturday. The 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® was second in the 200 Backstroke (2:08.40) and the 100 Butterfly (59.56). Dembny was fourth in the 100 Backstroke, following teammates Koryukova and freshman Vika Arkhipova (Seversk, Russia) in the second and third spots, respectively.
 
Weiss was second in the 200 Breaststroke with a time of 2:27.12. Senior Alex Andrechuk (Ajax, Ontario, Canada) and junior Kellie Gervas (Imperial, Pa.) were second and third, respectively, to Petrenko in the 400 Individual Medley.
 
Next weekend, Wingate will travel to the University of South Carolina to face Queens University of Charlotte and the College of Charleston Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25). On Friday, Jan. 31, Wingate will host St. Andrews University for Senior Day. The first event between the Bulldogs and the Knights will take place at 5 p.m. The University will honor 11 seniors (four men, seven women) during one of the meet's breaks.