Boiling Springs, N.C.----The number eight Wingate University men's swimming team won the last three events to rally for a 135-127 victory over Gardner-Webb University at the Bost Pool Saturday. The Bulldogs claimed a huge one-two finish in the meet-ending 400 Freestyle Relay to claim the win (complete results).
 
Wingate won the final two individual events (the 100 Butterfly and the 200 Individual Medley) to set the stage for the thrilling relay finish. On the afternoon, the visiting WU Bulldogs claimed eight gold medals, six silver medals and five bronze medals.
 
THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH KIRK SANOCKI
 
"Any time you are on the road…and it is the opponent's Senior Day…you are faced with a team very fired up to send their seniors off with a victory. Gardner-Webb is a very good team…and they went one-two in the meet's first event (the 200 Medley Relay). This certainly got our attention."
 
"For most of the meet, we were behind. In the meet's second half, we rallied emotionally and won some close races. We put ourselves in a position for this to be a relay meet. We need a one-three finish (in the 400 Free Relay) to win the meet…we did even better with the one-two showing."
 
"I am very pleased they fought the way they did the entire meet. We were not looking to work on times today…we were purely seeking competition against a good opponent. This gives us a chance to see where we are as we enter the championship portion of our season. For us to fight back and come away with a victory is huge!"
 
Event-by-Event highlights
 
200 Medley Relay
Third-Wingate A (1:35.89)
 
1000 Freestyle
First-Jonas Soerensen (9:49.41)
Second-Felix Grieb (9:56.80)
Third-Max Sundberg (10:01.39)
 
200 Freestyle
Second-Marcel Snitko (1:45.04)
Third-Ethan Hathcock (1:45.24)
 
100 Backstroke
Second-Markus Furst (51.60)
Third-David Granados Doblas (53.16)
 
100 Breaststroke
Second-Giacomo Viazzo (58.73)
 
200 Butterfly
First-Iran Almeida (1:51.28)
 
100 Freestyle
Third-Aaron Bowman (48.00)
 
200 Backstroke
First-David Granados Doblas (1:53.54)

200 Breaststroke
First-Giacomo Viazzo (2:05.11)
 
500 Freestyle
First-Daniel Mizera (4:41.12)
Second-Jonas Soerensen (4:46.75)
 
100 Butterfly
First-Iran Almeida (50.29)
 
200 Individual Medley
First-Markus Furst (1:56.40)

400 Freestyle Relay
First-Wingate A (3:09.07)
Second-Wingate B (3:10.97)
 
UPCOMING JANUARY #WUSWIM EVENTS
 
>The Bulldog men travel to Catawba Friday, Jan. 17 for a double-dual with the host Catawba Indians and Lenoir-Rhyne
>The next action for the WU women is Saturday, Jan. 18, when they venture to Lenoir-Rhyne (with Catawba) for a 1 p.m. double-dual meet
>The next home meet for either Bulldog team is Friday, Jan. 24, when the WU women host Barton at 5 p.m.
>The Wingate family will honor 13 #WUSWIM seniors on Friday, Jan. 24 in a pre-meet ceremony
>The Bulldog men visit Barton Saturday, Jan. 25
 
BLUEGRASS MOUNTAIN CONFERENCE MEET

The nationally-ranked Wingate University men's and women's swimming teams will compete in the 22nd annual Bluegrass Mountain Conference championship meet at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center (MCAC) February 13-16. Preliminaries begin Thursday through Sunday at 10 a.m. Finals on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will start at 6 p.m. Sunday's finals will commence at 5 p.m.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
A comprehensive, independent and growing university, Wingate serves more than 3,600 students in North Carolina. Founded in 1896, the University offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as graduate and professional programs. Wingate is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences. Wingate blends in-class exploration with out-of-class application to deliver an uncommon and life-changing educational experience.
 
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 13 years. Wingate is first in the 2000s among NCAA Division II and North Carolina's colleges and universities with 115 CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 124 lifetime Academic All-America® honorees. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com. Current news and videos can be found at www.wingate.edu.