INFO | Conference Carolinas men's swimming poll presser
Greenville, S.C.----The Wingate University men's swimming team is picked to win the Conference Carolinas championship meet, league officials announce this week. In voting by the conference's 10 head coaches, the Wingate men claimed nine first-place votes and 86 points.
Five schools, Catawba, Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill and Wingate, are new to the Conference Carolinas this year as associate members in men's and women's swimming. Wingate won four-of-four South Atlantic Conference men's championships while the SAC sponsored swimming.
In the 2026-27 poll, Catawba was picked second with 65 points. Carson-Newman and Lenoir-Rhyne came in third and fourth, respectively, with 56 and 53 points. Emmanuel (Ga.) received the final first-place vote and 51 points to come in fifth.
Conference Carolinas Swimmers to Watch
In addition to the preseason poll announcement, the Conference Carolinas honored student-athletes from each school as Swimmers to Watch. Wingate's honorees are:
Men
Vladimir Krstulovic, junior team captain
Yassine Sebatta, junior
Arons Roderts, freshman
Sebatta was a first team NCAA Division II All-American in three relay events last season, while Krstulovic collected two first team All-American relay honors in 2025. Roderts is one of 12 WU newcomers looking to make an impact this season.
Next on the Agenda
Wingate opens its 2026-27 season October 9-10, venturing to Michigan for the Grand Valley State University Invitational. The Bulldogs open the home portion of the 2026-27 schedule on Friday, October 16, hosting league foe Catawba for a 1 p.m. dual meet.
Looking back at 2025-26
- The Bulldogs swept the SAC championships for the fourth time, winning both titles
- WU head coach
Kevin Hennessy earned SAC men's swimming Coach of the Year
- The Bulldog men took seventh of 31 teams who tallied points at the '26 NCAAs
- The WU women finished 11th of 35 schools who scored points at the '26 NCAAs
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® honors 41 times
- 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 3,600 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 30 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 18 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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