Women's Swimming | 1/12/2018 9:13:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----The nationally-ranked Wingate University swimming teams split a dual meet with Gardner-Webb University in the WU Natatorium Friday evening. The number nine Bulldog men defeated GWU 138.5-66.5, while the number 13 Wingate women lost a 120-85 decision to the visiting Runnin' Bulldogs (complete results).
 
"I was very pleased with our racing tonight, especially coming off the hardest two weeks of training during the Christmas break," Wingate head swimming coach Kirk Sanocki says. "I'm very optimistic with our second semester starting point and really looking forward to how we progress over the next four-to-five weeks heading into the conference championships."
 
Men's recap
 
Wingate won nine events to take the victory over their NCAA Division I counterparts. Three Bulldogs had a hand in three victories each: senior Sebastian Holmberg (Njutanger, Sweden) and freshmen Marco Farber Gonzalez (Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) and David Granados Doblas (Olot, Spain).
 
Holmberg and Granados Doblas started the day by swimming on Wingate's victorious 400 Medley Relay quartet (3:25.35). Holmberg touched first in the 200 Individual Medley (1:53.25) and finished his Friday by joining Farber Gonzalez, Granados Doblas and senior Tripp Wright (Cypress, Texas) on the Bulldogs' triumphant 200 Freestyle Relay team (1:25.02).
 
Individually, Farber Gonzalez won two events: the 200 Freestyle (1:42.93) and the 500 Freestyle (4:40.42). Granados Doblas took the gold medal in the 200 Backstroke (1:53.83). Freshman Lukas Kraft (Steinheim, Germany) equaled Farber Gonzalez with two individual victories in the 50 Freestyle (21.49) and the 100 Freestyle (46.97).
 
Wingate junior Niklas Martin (Kempton, Germany) also won an individual event, touching first in the 200 Butterfly (1:53.24). Senior Lennart Queiss (Langen, Germany) and sophomore Giacomo Viazzo (Lonato del Gardo, Italy) collected gold medals for their roles in the meet-opening 400 Medley Relay victory.
 
Women's recap
 
Wingate graduate student Alex Divelbiss (Pueblo, Colo.) continued her solid season, winning two times for the Navy Blue and Vegas Gold-clad Bulldogs. Divelbiss touched first in the 200 Individual Medley (2:08.67) and the 100 Freestyle (52.90). The two teams battled neck-and-neck until Gardner-Webb took the top three places in the 500 Freestyle.
 
Bulldog seniors Hanna Van Horen (Hofstade, Belgium) and Maria Madsen (Dragoer, Denmark) won one event each. Van Horen claimed the gold medal in the 200 Freestyle (1:57.34), while Madsen won the 50 Freestyle (24.96).
 
Wingate returns to the pool next weekend for its Senior Day/Alumni Day meet on Saturday, Jan. 20. The first event will start at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will honor nine seniors during the afternoon's festivities.
 
On the women's side, Wingate will recognize Divelbiss, Mariona Espinalt (Barcelona, Spain), Marinela Procopii (Hickory, N.C.) and Miranda Seegars (Monroe, N.C.) next Saturday. The Bulldogs will also senior men Holmberg, Queiss, Wright, Bricesen Burton (Rustburg, Va.) and Robin Siegel (Friedberg, Germany).
 
WHAT THE WINGATE CAPTAINS ARE SAYING…
…about the season to date:
 
Alex Divelbiss
 
"After a long four months of training and preparation, we are now entering our championship season and we are more ready than ever. If we didn't feel confident before, we sure do now. Our Florida training trip was a huge success and the men's and women's teams are ready for the final stretch. We used tonight's meet to get back into the swing of racing and to get our minds ready for some tough competition with the Bluegrass Mountain Conference championships around the corner. WU Swim is ready for it all!"
 
Sebastian Holmberg
 
"Christmas 'break' treated us well. It was nice to get away from Wingate for a short time. Training trip is over…and we have put the hay in the barn. We still have a couple of weeks of hard work and then we will start our preparations for the Bluegrass Mountain Conference meet! We are very excited for the second half of the season. It is always a great time when we can race on our home soil! WUWHAT?! WUSWIM!"
 
Maria Madsen
 
"The Florida training trip is always a great time of the year where the team comes together and trains super hard. This year was no different and the team really showed we are capable of hard work! I am super excited about this next part of the season…because it is now that the fun begins! It will be interesting to see how especially the freshmen will step it up and perform! WUWHAT?! WUSWIM!"
 
Tripp Wright
 
"The team never ceases to impress. No matter the obstacle, no matter the challenge, our team has risen to the occasion. It's been exciting to see how the newcomers have become a part of the family…and how the returners have stepped up as leaders. This season has thrown many curve balls at us, but we have only grown closer together. I'm excited for what lies ahead. As we embark on the second half of our season, people better watch out because a team has risen."