Buffaloes Men's and Women's Swimming Triumph over King on Senior Day
MILLIGAN, Tenn. – Milligan University's men's and women's swim teams did battle with the King University Tornado squads on Senior Day in the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse Pool on Saturday. Milligan's men and women both earned head-to-head wins against the Tornado. The men took a 167.5-87.5 triumph, while the women won 157-94.
The Buffs saw Mary Grace Bitting win the 50 butterfly to begin the meet, posting a 30.40 to earn the victory. Suzanne Aguirre placed second for the Buffaloes in just 30.63. Milligan then had a sweep of the top three spots in the men's 50 butterfly, as Sergio Tudor earned the win in 25.97, and Joash Mckonie (26.06) and Michael Rinaldi (26.35) followed him.
The women's 50 backstroke would follow, as Azaliia Gabdrakipova earned the victory with a season-best 32.50 and Emily Haas placed second with a personal-best 33.41. In the men's 50 backstroke, Stephen Gilbert earned the victory with a 27.53 clip. Milligan then had the third-place finisher, as well, in the form of Jayden Bearden with a time of 29.28.
Teagan Jose led the way for the Buffs in the women's 50 breaststroke, where she won in 37.38 seconds. Mirella Rutigliano finished second in 38.47, while Phoebe Lichty came in third at 39.06. The men's 50 breaststroke saw Caleb Fry earn the win with a 30.53 time. John Cox then placed third for the Buffaloes with a 32.34 time, which was a personal best.
Milligan also boasted the top two finishers in the women's 50 freestyle, as Madison Akbari placed first with a time of 29.21, while Liz Mahan came across in 29.66 as the runner-up. The men's 50 freestyle saw Paxton Smith (24.44), Cole Brusher (25.13) and Shelton Harviel (25.25) occupy the top three positions.
Samantha van Vuure came in second in the women's 100 individual medley, scoring a 1:12.42 time. On the men's side, Robert Adam won the event with a 59.19, which was a personal-best time. Andre Bazzana finished third and clocked in at 1:01.78.
Next up was the women's 100 butterfly, which Bitting won for Milligan. She had a 1:06.73 mark. Aguirre had a season-best 1:10.19 to place second, while Emma Rae Phillips came in third at 1:13.30. The men's 100 butterfly boasted a top three of Tudor (59.29), Mckonie (59.44) and Gellert Szedlak (59.62).
Gabdrakipova (1:09.22) and Haas (1:10.83, SB) took the top two spots in the women's 100 backstroke, while the men's 100 backstroke saw S. Gilbert take the win at 58.88 and Bearden place third in 1:04.38.
Jose won the women's 100 breaststroke with a 1:20.83 time, and Fry took the men's title in the 100 breaststroke with his 1:07.15 mark.
The 100 freestyle competition was dominated by Milligan on the women's side, as Akbari (1:05.18), Mahan (1:06.25) and Riley Renaud (1:06.51) swept the top three spots. For the men, Smith came in first with his 53.91 time, while Brusher posted a personal-best 55.78 to place third.
For van Vuure it was a second-place finish in the 200 individual medley in 2:40.93. The first event that Milligan did not win was the men's 200 IM, as Adam came in second with a 2:12.48 and Peter Gilbert placed third with a 2:18.68.
The same three Milligan women who took the top three in the 100 butterfly took the top three in the 150 butterfly. Bitting (1:46.63), Aguirre (1:56.38) and Phillips (1:57.63) took the honors. On the men's side, Szedlak won with a 1:35.25, while Mckonie placed third with a 1:38.56.
Gabdrakipova (1:49.01) and Haas (1:51.16) took the top two spots in the 150 backstroke for the women, as S. Gilbert won the men's contest with a 1:31.99 and Bearden came in third in 1:42.16.
Jose had the top time in the 150 breaststroke on the women's side, clocking in at 2:06.69, while Fry posted that top time in the men's portion at 1:47.13 and Michael Cellucci placed third with his 1:59.61.
Renaud (1:44.00), Akbari (1:44.66) and Mahan (1:45.38) had the top three times in the women's 150 freestyle, while Smith posted the fastest time in the men's 150 freestyle with a 1:27.78.
The 300 individual medley saw van Vuure place second with a time of 4:04.33 on the women's side, and both Adam (3:31.31) and P. Gilbert (3:32.87) finished in the top three for the men.
Each stroke had a "king" or "queen" as a result of the standings at each distance. To be eligible, all swimmers had to finish all three distances in the same stroke. Overall, the winners included Bitting (women's butterfly), Gabdrakipova (women's backstroke), Jose (women's breaststroke), Akbari (women's freestyle), Szedlak (men's butterfly), S. Gilbert (men's backstroke), Fry (men's breaststroke) and Smith (men's freestyle).
Next on the docket is the Appalachian Athletic Conference Swim Championships in Kingsport, Tenn. in two weeks on Feb. 7-8.