Eight Milligan Swimming records fall against Carson-Newman

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (October 29, 2021) – The Milligan University men's and women's swim teams set eight program records, four NAIA "A" cuts and 25 provisional times in a matchup with NCAA Division II Carson-Newman at the UT Aquatic Center on Friday morning.

"Really great efforts across the board from both teams," said head coach Spencer Scarth. "This time of the season, we shouldn't be setting records or going really fast, but our team stepped up big time. Carson Newman is a very strong D2 program, and they swam well considering their current pool conditions. We're grateful to them for rearranging things and allowing our team to swim at one of the best pools in the country at UT. We're looking forward to our home opener tomorrow against Mars Hill."

Carson-Newman earned the win in both dual meets as the Eagles took the men's head-to-head 157-104 and the women's side 171-89. Carson-Newman's men rank No. 11 and woman are No. 7 in NCAA Division II's opening 2021-22 poll.

Sophomore Tyler Cates logged two NAIA "A" cuts and school records with personal-bests in the 100-yard backstroke (57.62) and 200 backstroke (2:04.97).

Freshman Andre Bazzana shattered the Buffs' all-time 1,000-yard freestyle by over 20 seconds at 9:54.19 and hit a provisional mark in the 500 free at 4:42.97. He won the 200 fly with provisional time of 1:56.23.

Graduate student Maggie Blazo set program records and hit NAIA provisional times in the 100 and 200 freestyle events. She broke former teammate Sara Farmer's 100 freestyle mark with a 54.15 time and her own 200 freestyle mark with a 1:55.39 effort.

Sophomore Bre Coley set personal-records and hit qualifying-times in the 100 breast, 200 breast and 200 IM. She broke her own Milligan record in the 200 IM (2:14.64) and posted a 1:08.81 in the 100 breast and 2:31.49 in the 200 breast.

Graduate student Wiktor Perkowski set Milligan's 100 butterfly record at 50.58. He notched a second provisional mark in 100 back (52.62).

Sophomore Stephen Gilbert earned a trio of first-place finishes with nationally competitive times. He posted the fastest 200 IM in the NAIA this season at 1:52.17. He notched the third-fastest 100 back time at 51.40 and logged a 1:53.70 in the 200 back.

Senior Aubin Dulin hit provisional times in both breaststroke events at 59.15 and 2:09.13 in the 100 and 200 breast.

Gabby MacPherson won the 500 free with a provisional time of 5:13.31 and notched another qualifying effort with a season-best in the 200 fly (2:10.16).

Suzy Aguirre recorded NAIA provisional marks in the 100 fly (1:01.35) and 200 fly (2:17.47).

Ben Hawkins (59.05), Kaylee Williams (1:09.61) and Mirella Rutigliano (1:10.64) all recorded provisional times in the 100 breast.

Ethan McCosh in the 200 fly (1:58.21), Liz Mahan in the 50 free (25.44) and Rachel Scheffer in the 100 back (1:02.30) all hit provisional standards as well.

The Buffs had a pair of relays secure NAIA "A" cuts. Milligan's men's 200 medley relay unit of Perkowski, Dulin, McCosh and Gilbert posted a school record and third-fastest time in the country this season at 1:34.99. On the women's side, Blazo, Cates, Aguirre and MacPherson combined for an "A" cut in the 200 free relay with the third-fastest time in the nation this year.

Milligan swimming returns to action tomorrow for its home opener against Mars Hills at 11:00 a.m.