WINGATE SWIMMING BEATS LIMESTONE
Leah Goode
11/14/2009 6:56:40 PM
GAFFNEY, S.C.— The Limestone College men’s and women’s swimming teams were defeated by Wingate University on Saturday afternoon at the Timken Aquatic Center. The Lady Saints were edged by the Lady Bulldogs, 133-129. The Saints lost to the Wingate men 173-89.
The Lady Saints, who have never beaten Wingate, had several strong efforts by team members.
“Our women’s team moral was really high,” pointed out Limestone Head Coach Robert Gecan. “Senior team captain Molly Reichwald did a great job of leading our team. The girls battled back and forth and came close to pulling off the upset.”
The Lady Saints started out strong as they won the 200 medley relay. Renee Pouchet (Maraval, Trinidad), Marta Stepien (Kedzierzyn, Poland), Ines Speranda (Split, Croatia), and Raquel Rudolph (Pickens, S.C.) combined for a time of 1:52.19. In the final relay event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle, won with a time of 3:42.58. Members of the team included Reichwald (Atlanta, Ga.), Jenna Arington (Pittsford, N.Y.), Isabell Nystrom (Stockholm, Sweden), and Rudolph.
The Limestone women also did well in the individual events. Pouchet posted a personal best time of 59.95 to win the 100 backstroke. Stepien picked up wins in the 100 breaststroke (1:07.87), the 200 breaststroke (2:23.55), and the 200 individual medley (2:10.61). Her times in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley qualified for NCAA “B” cut times. Nystrom picked up wins in the 1000 freestyle (10:46.22) and 500 freestyle (5:15.78) events. Speranda, closing in on her team record, posted a season-best time of 2:18.83 in the 200 butterfly. Arington won the 50 freestyle with her time of 26.01.
Despite being plagued by illness and injury, the men also came out of the gate winning the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:40.65. Gene Magliaro (Greenville, S.C.), Benjamin Williams (Berea, Ohio), Deniz Bilgin (Instanbul, Turkey), and Lance Maxwell (Vienna, Austria) all contributed to the first-place finish. While the thin line up would eventually impact the final result, several individuals continued to show early season improvements.
Team captain Gilles Gutnecht (Marseille, France) dominated the 200 and 500 freestyle events with times of 1:44.71 and 4:48.70, respectively. Williams continued to improve as he posted his best early season time in the 200 breaststroke (2:19.49) after he was disqualified for a false start in the 100 breaststroke. Nikolaus Thomas (Denver, Colo.) had a strong performance in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:03.24, and he also posted an early season-best time in the 200 freestyle (1:49.91). Blake Schaeffer (Simpsonville, S.C.) turned out an impressive victory in the 200 butterfly. After falling behind in the first 150 yards of the event, Schaeffer put forth a huge effort to pass the Wingate swimmers in the last 10 yards for a time of 2:06.55. Bilgin finished third in the 200 individual medley with a season best time of 2:04.84.
Limestone will begin competition at the Charlotte Invitational on November 21 at 10 a.m. in Charlotte, N.C.
Meet Results