Season Preview: 2021-22 Women’s Swimming

MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, Tenn. (September 30, 2021) – The Milligan University women's swim team looks to capture its first Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship in the 2021-22 season.

Coach Spencer Scart Preseason Interview | Visual Preview

The Buffs began their season at the CSCAA College National Open Water Championship September 17th, and will now begin their regular meet season at the King Invitational October 1-2.

2020-21 Season Review: Milligan women's swimming posted the program's top overall finish at the AAC Championships last season. The Buffs finished second overall behind Asbury with 728 points. Milligan claimed a school-record nine AAC titles (four individual, five relay) at AACs last year.

Women's swimming had a significant contingent of individual swimmers and relays that qualified for the 2020-21 NAIA Championships, but the meet was cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns. The Buffs finished fifth in collegeswimming.com's NAIA National Championship rankings and concluded the year ranked No. 8 in the final NAIA Coaches' Top 10 poll.

The Buffs reeled in 12 (eight individual, four relay) All-American awards from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches of America (CSCAA), who handed out All-American hardware based on in-season performances in lieu of the national championship meet.

"This team continues to grow both in numbers and in confidence each year," said head coach Spencer Scarth. "Last year's late cancellation of nationals took a bit of a hit on our team, as we had set them up for a great meet, but just like when we had quarantines and positive cases, they quickly bounced back. Our women had virtually no shot at winning conference last year based on roster numbers, and we had projected them to be in second by roughly 160 points. The ladies swam lights out and at the end of the meet, we lost by 12 points. Getting that close has really driven this year's team to push themselves at every lift and every swim this year."

Academically, Milligan was named a CSCAA Scholar All-America Team in both semesters and posted a 3.59 grade point average for the year, the fifth-best mark among NAIA Scholar All-America teams. Individually, the Buffs had 10 women's swimmers named CSCAA Scholar All-Americans, the third-most among NAIA institutions awarded by the CSCAA.

Over the summer, graduate student Maggie Blazo became Milligan's first-ever Milligan swimming CoSIDA Academic All-American when she was named to the Academic All-America® NAIA Women's At-Large First Team in August.

Team Captains: Maggie Blazo and Rachel Scheffer

Key Returners: All seven of the Buffs' 2020-21 CSCAA All-Americans are back in the pool for 2021-22.

Sophomore Gabby MacPherson reeled in three CSCAA All-American nods in both butterfly events and the 500 freestyle. She ranked fourth in the nation in the 200 fly (2:08.80) and 500 free (5:08.17).

MacPherson won the 200 fly at the AAC Conference Championships and was the conference runner-up in the 500 free and 100 fly. She also helped the Buffs to four relay conference championships.

Sophomore Tyler Cates posted personal bests, top-five times nationally and conference titles in the 100 back (57.80) and 200 back (2:04.99) at the AAC Conference Championships. She collected CSCAA All-American status in both backstroke events.

Cates also added a fourth-place showing and a provisional time in the 500 free (5:15.35) at the AAC Conference Championships. She also was on three of the Buffs' conference championship relay units.

Sophomore Kaylee Williams won both breaststroke events at the AAC Conference Championships last winter with top-six times nationally. She posted a season best 1:06.41 in the 100 breast and a personal best 2:25.06 in the 200 breast. Williams was named an All-American in the 100 and 200 breast by the CSCAA.

Williams added a third place and provisional standard in the 400 IM (4:52.82) at the AAC Conference Championships, and was part of Milligan's conference championship-winning 400 medley relay.

Grad student Maggie Blazo returns after graduating last spring as the most decorated women's swimmer in the program's modern era. She posted provisional times in the 50, 100 and 200 freestyle events and collected three medals at the 2020-21 AAC Conference Championships.

Blazo took second in the 50 free (24.54), second in the 200 back (2:09.03) and third in the 200 free (1:56.54). She was part of four of Milligan's relay titles at the AAC Conference Championships. Blazo was also honored as a CSCAA All-American in 200 back with a top-12 time nationally (2:08.93) that she swam at Union.

Sophomore Erika Farring earned a pair of third-place finishes and NAIA provisional times in the 100 fly (59.96) and 200 fly (2:19.03) at the AAC Conference championships. She added a sixth-place showing in the 50 free (25.96).

Sophomore Hannah Wheatley notched three provisional times at the AAC Conference Championships last winter. She was the AAC runner-up in the 1650 free at 18:43.07 and took fifth in the 500 free (5:23.42) and sixth in the 200 free (2:02.21). She hit a provisional time in the 200 free (2:00.42) during the Buffs' championship 800 free relay and claimed CSCAA All-American status in the event alongside Blazo, Cates and MacPherson.

Junior Rachel Scheffer made three trips to the "A" finals, notched two provisional times and was on three championship relays for Milligan at the AAC Conference Championships. Scheffer hit a provisional time in the 100 back (1:02.23) prelims and finished fourth in the finals. She also took fifth in the 50 free (25.70) and 100 fly, where she also hit a provisional time in the prelims (1:01.37). Scheffer earned CSCAA All-American status with Blazo, Cates and MacPherson in the 200 free relay as the Buffs owned the fourth-fastest time in the nation (1:38.89).

Sophomore Bre Coley was the runner-up in the 400 IM (4:52.76) at the 2020-21 AAC Conference Championships. She also notched a provisional time in a third-place finish in the 200 IM (2:16.24) and took sixth in the 200 breast.

Sophomore Taylor Bartlett logged top-fix finishes in the three events at the AAC Conference Championships. Bartlett took third in the 1650 timed freestyle with a provisional time of 18:45.98. She also took fourth in the 200 back (2:20.46) and sixth in the 500 free (5:30.68). Bartlett helped the Buffs to an AAC title in the 400 free relay and snagged CSCAA All-American status in the event with Blazo, Cates and MacPherson.

Senior Marlie Henegar made both "A" finals in the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the AAC Conference Championships. She set a personal best in the 100 back (1:12.92) prelims and took eighth in the final. She also finished eighth in the 200 back (2:35.67) and was 16th in the 50 free.

Newcomers: Milligan welcomes six newcomers from six different states to the roster in 2021-22.

Liz Mahan and Grace Feeney bolster the Buffs' sprint freestyle corps. Emma Rae Phillips (distance free/IM), Suzi Aguirre (sprint free/fly), Mackenzie LaFrance (back) and Mirella Rutigliano (breast/IM) are looking to make a splash in their debut seasons with the Buffs.

"This is an extremely well rounded class and is exactly what our program needs at this point," said Scarth. "Our underclassmen will be setting the groundwork for what this team will be able to accomplish this year and for the next few years, and we're excited to have such a great group of women join us"

Suzi Aguirre (Brandenton, FL, Sarasota Tsunami Swim Club)
Grace Feeney (Morris Plains, NJ, Greater Morristown YMCA)
Mackenzie LaFrance (Phoenix, AZ, Rio Salado Swim Club)
Liz Mahan (Katy, TX, Katy Aquatics)
Emma Rae Phillips (Russell Springs, KY, Central Kentucky Aquatics)
Mirella Rutigliano (Portland, OR, Dolphins Portland Swimming)

Looking at the Schedule: The 2021-22 AAC Championships are set for February 10-12 at the Kingsport Aquatic Center. The 2021-22 NAIA Swimming & Diving National Championships are slate for March 2-5 at the Columbus Aquatic Center in Georgia.

The Buffs' regular season begins October 1-2 at the King Invitational at the Kingsport Aquatic Center and concludes at Lees McRae on January 29.

Milligan has two regular season meets on tap for 2021-22. The Buffs host Mars Hill on October 30 and welcome King on January 14.

The Buffs' wrap up their fall schedule with the Fall Frenzy Invitational in Charlotte, November 19-21. The Buffs will square off against NCAA Division I and Division II schools, including perennial powerhouse Queens University, in a championship-style midseason event.

"This is by far the most challenging schedule Milligan has ever had," said Scarth. "We've already seen some extremely strong competition at Open Water's amongst the likes of Purdue, Kansas, Nebraska and others. That theme of strong competition will only continue through our season, as our goal is to be the most battle tested team when it comes time for championships."

Last Word: "This is the most talented women's team Milligan has ever had, and they are hungry for a shot at winning our conference," said Scarth. We definitely have the right leadership and the right team members in place. This team will be a lot of fun to watch over the next few months as they continue to do things that this team has never accomplished before."