Swimming sends seniors out in style in dual meet sweep of King

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (January 14, 2022) – The Milligan University men's and women's swim teams earned dual meet victories over King and honored their seniors in the Buffs' final home meet of the 2021-22 season on Friday evening. Milligan earned a 182-45 win over the Tornado in the women's meet and a 192-60 victory on the men's side.

Milligan's men took first place in all 14 events on the night, while the Buffs' women won 12 of 13 events overall.

Stephen Gilbert and Andre Bazzana both bested the previous pool record in the 200 butterfly by over three seconds. Gilbert swam 2:07.82 and Bazzana clocked in at 2:08.51. Gilbert added a first-place showing in the 200 free with another provisional mark of 1:57.97. He also captured took first in the 400 freestyle, backstroking his way to a 4:23.00. Bazzana added another provisional swim of 52.84 in the 100 freestyle.

In the women's 200 fly, Gabby MacPherson and Emma Rae Phillips both went under the previous pool record. MacPherson set the new mark at 2:28.81 and Phillips swam 2:23.28. Both times met national provisional standards. MacPherson added first-place finishes and provisional times in the 200 free (2:16.61) and 100 fly (1:07.55).

Kaylee Williams set pool record and hit provisional times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. She swam 1:16.72 in the 100 breast, breaking a record that's stood for over seven years, and posted a 2:47.93 in the 200 breast.

Maggie Blazo logged national qualifying times in the 100 free (1:02.00) and 400 free (4:43.92).

Wiktor Perkowski won the 100 back with a provisional time of 1:00.00.

Milligan swept all four relays on the evening.

"Very proud of our graduating swimmers, they stepped up their game tonight and swam beyond what they may have thought they were capable of going into the meet," said Scarth. "They have had a tremendous impact on our team and have really shaped the direction in which we are heading. Overall, a great way to start the second half of our season with a lot of strong swims coming off of a long training week. We are looking forward to our upcoming matchup with Cumberlands next weekend."

Milligan heads to the University of the Cumberlands next Saturday for a high profile dual meet. The Patriots rank No. 2 nationally in the NAIA men's rankings and third overall in the women's poll.