Men's Swimming | 1/15/2016 9:22:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior Ossian Arvidsson (Kungälv, Sweden) celebrated his final meet in the Wingate Natatorium with three victories (two individual, one relay) as the host Bulldogs defeated Bluegrass Mountain Conference rival Catawba College 94-73 in a dual meet Friday night. The Bulldog family celebrated Senior Night by honoring nine seniors during the meet's first break (meet results).
 
Arvidsson started his night by swimming the anchor leg on Wingate's triumphant 400 Medley Relay team. The Bulldogs posted a time of 3:28.11. Later in the evening, Arvidsson touched first in the 200 Freestyle (1:46.46) and the 500 Freestyle (4:48.89). Classmate Roman Kanyuka (Moscow, Russia) won the 200 Breaststroke (2:08.59) and swam the second leg with the 400 Medley Relay group.
 
"Tonight was all about the seniors," Wingate head men's and women's swimming coach Kirk Sanocki says. "This is the only time during the year…when our entire focus for the last month of the season is sending them off in style."
 
"I feel so proud of our nine seniors," Sanocki says. "It is awesome how our team, area alumni and the campus community comes out to support them during their final competition in the Cannon Athletic Complex. We should be happy tonight, but we are sad…knowing this is the beginning of the end for a very special group of people."
 
Bulldog senior Damjan Petrovski (Skopje, Macedonia) joined Arvidsson, Kanyuka and freshman Niklas Martin (Kempton, Germany) on the victorious 400 Medley Relay quartet. Martin was not the only Wingate newcomer to find the winner's circle, as classmates Nathan Kimbel (Yorktown, Va.) and Camden Wunderlich (Snohomish, Wash.) claimed individual victories.
 
Wunderlich earned Wingate's first individual victory of the evening, as he secured the gold medal in the 1000 Freestyle with a time of 9:59.44. Kimbel ended a Wingate run of five victories in five events with his win in the 200 Individual Medley (1:59.08). On the night, Wingate won seven of the 11 contested events.
 
Next on the Wingate agenda is a visit to the University of South Carolina Friday and Saturday to race the Gamecocks, Queens and Gardner-Webb. Wingate hosts the Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) meet in the Rock Hill Aquatics Center Feb. 10-13.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Wingate University, consistently ranked as a top 10 "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,100 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, master's degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport management and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 15 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visit www.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past nine years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 82 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 82 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 91 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.