INFO | SAC men's poll presser
INFO | SAC women's poll presser
 
Rock Hill, S.C.----The Wingate University men's and women's swimming teams are picked to win the South Atlantic Conference championship meets, league officials announce this week. In voting by the conference's six head coaches, the Wingate men claimed five first-place votes and 25 points. The Bulldog women earned four first-place votes and 24 points.
 
What They Are Saying
Wingate head coach Kevin Hennessy
 
"Being ranked No. 1 is always a great feeling, but as I have reminded our team, we may have won last year's SAC Championship, but we haven't won anything yet this year. We still have to go out there and earn it. We have already had to face some unique challenges to start the season and it has truly brought out the heart and character of this team."
 
"The leadership from our captains and the team's ability to focus on the controllable(s) have already set this team apart. Myself and the other coaches couldn't be prouder and more excited about this team and the season we have before us. WU WHAT?? WU SWIM!!"
 
SAC Swimmers to Watch
 
In addition to the preseason poll announcement, the South Atlantic Conference honored student-athletes from each school as Swimmers to Watch. Wingate's honorees are:
 
Men
Ney Chagas Filho, sophomore                  
Gabriel da Costa, senior team captain                    
Miguel Marcos, junior
 
Women
Nina Azirovic, sophomore                         
Marta Beesmans Barquero, junior team captain       
Franziska Muhlberger, sophomore   
 
Next on the Agenda
2023-24 #WUSWIM schedule

Wingate opens the 2023-24 season Friday afternoon, facing Queens University of Charlotte in a dual meet at the Levine Center. The first event is slated for a 5 p.m. start. The Bulldogs host Barton College for Senior Day Saturday, January 20, 2024 in the Wingate University Natatorium.
 
The postseason begins in February, when Wingate competes in the South Atlantic Conference Swimming Championships Feb. 14-17 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. The 2024 NCAA Division II swimming and diving championships are March 12-16 in Geneva, Ohio.

Looking back at 2022-23
 
- Miguel Marcos was named SAC Swimmer of the Meet as WU won men's title
- Daniel Mizera ('23) won the SAC Elite 23 Award for men's swimming
- Kate Agger ('22) was named SAC Swimmer of the Meet as WU won women's crown
- Franziska Muhlberger received SAC Freshman of the Year laurels
- Then-WU head coach Kirk Sanocki won both SAC Coach of the Year trophies
- The WU women finished sixth of 39 schools who scored points at the '23 NCAAs
- The Bulldog men took eighth of 33 teams who tallied points at the '23 NCAAs
- FYI: 101 schools sponsor D2 women's swim, while 76 offer D2 men's swim
 
Wingate Swimming quick facts
 
- Wingate has 45 NCAA national championship swims lifetime (31 women, 14 men)
- At NCAAs, the WU women have earned second place once (2016) and third twice
- The 'Dogs have earned fifth place at NCAA men's meet once with five sixth-place showings
- WUSWIM student-athletes have earned Academic All-America® at-large team honors 36 times (20 men, 16 women)
- The Bulldogs swept the inaugural SAC championships in '23, winning both titles
- WU won 11 Bluegrass Mountain Conference crowns (seven men's, four women's) while BMC members

Wingate University

Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University 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.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 25 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 15 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.
 
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