Swimming sets five pool records in dual sweep of Mars Hill

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (October 30, 2021) – The Milligan University swim teams set five pool records and notched 15 NAIA provisional times as the Buffs defeated Mars Hill on the second day of a back-to-back on Saturday morning in the Milligan natatorium.

The Milligan men earned a 185-73 win while the women won 203-57 in the Buffs' first home meet of the season, the day after a well-contested matchup with a nationally ranked NCAA Division II Carson-Newman on Friday.

"We had a lot of really great, gutsy swims today, especially after having raced yesterday afternoon," said head coach Spencer Scarth. "Our lineup looked a bit different that normal, as we went with some off events, and I was very pleased to see some fantastic races. We will need to continue to put in some quality work (which some of our new equipment will help with) these next two weeks in preparation for a some very fast meets ahead. It's been an exciting 24 hours of racing, and we look forward to what's ahead of us."

Tyler Cates picked up where she left off on Friday by setting pool records and hitting NAIA provisional times in in the 100 and 200 meter backstroke. She went 1:08.38 in the 100 back and 2:29.76 in the 200 back, and won the 800 meter freestyle in 10:14.28.

Gabby MacPherson earned first-place finishes in three events with three NAIA-qualifying times in the 100 free (1:01.13), 200 free (2:13.38) and 100 fly (1:07.80).

Emma Rae Phillips turned an outstanding swim in the 200 meter butterfly with a 2:32.98 effort, setting the pool record and notching an NAIA provisional mark. Suzy Aguirre also secured a provisional time in the 200 fly at 2:35.69.

Andre Bazzana established a pool record and nabbed a provisional mark in the 100 fly at 56.85 and took second in an extremely competitive 800 free against Raul Briceno at 8:46.31, which was faster than the previous pool record.

Maggie Blazo won the 50 free with a provisional time of 28.48 and also took first in the 400 free (4:49.06).

Stephen Gilbert competed in several off-event races and swam NAIA provisional times in the 50 free (24.05), 100 free (53.02) and 100 breast (1:06.11). Logan Garzonio joined him with an NAIA-qualifying time in the 50 free (24.48).

Ben Hawkins recorded a provisional mark in the 200 freestyle (2:00.04) and Ethan McCosh landed a provisional time with a win in the 400 freestyle (4:14.63) against Briceno.

The Buffs' 400 free relay unit of McCosh, Hawkins, Bazzana and Gilbert established a pool record at 3:35.72.

Milligan swimming returns to action on Nov. 13 against NCAA Division III opponents Lynchburg and Roanoke at Liberty University.