This past Saturday, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams team both hosted Birmingham-Southern College at the Woodruff P.E. Center. The teams won comfortably by a combined score of 285 to 197.
Coming off a close 152-146 loss at University of North Carolina Wilmington a week prior, the women’s team bounced back well, defeating Birmingham-Southern 150-93. The Eagles dominated each of the 15 events, besides the 100-yard freestyle, the 200-yard backstroke and the 500-yard freestyle. The team often had the top three or four places in the earlier events, claiming crucial points and establishing an early lead.
Coming off a blowout loss at UNC Wilmington 193-95, the men’s team also bounced back against Birmingham-Southern with a 135-106 victory.
The men’s team also dominated the early events, giving themselves an early advantage. Similar to the women’s team, the men’s team often had the top three or four finishes in the early events, which helped them claim 16 of 19 available points for each event.
The women’s diving team also followed suit with the other events, claiming all three places in both the one-meter and three-meter dives. Senior Sarah Greene placed first in both events, claiming 18 crucial points for Emory.
The men’s team wasn’t as successful, losing both the one-meter and three-meter dives to Birmingham-Southern.
Junior McKenna Newsum-Schoenberg stepped up for the women’s team. She placed first in the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly and the 200-yard freestyle. This brought 27 of the team’s 150 points for the day. Also, Newsum-Schoenberg went three for three, placing first in all of her three events.
For the men’s team, Hayden Baker won two of his three events, winning the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly events. This gave the team 18 of their 135 points for the day and set up the team with a nice early lead.
Coming up, the men and the women both have three meets before the anticipated Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio starting Dec. 5. They host Savannah A&D this Friday, Nov. 8 before going on the road to face University of Georgia the following Friday, Nov. 15. Then, they host the Emory Diving Invitational on Nov. 23 before having two weeks before the Miami Invitational.
The team will look to do well in the early meets to prepare themselves for the Miami Invitational. The younger swimmers and divers will continue to gain experience competing at the Division III level. The team still has ample time to get acclimated to the season.
The University Athletic Assocation (UAA) championships and the Division III tournament aren’t for a long time, so we have not seen the best from the Emory team yet.
The men’s team finished second in the nation as recent as 2009, so a run at the title isn’t out of question.
The women’s team has finished in the top four in the nation for 13 consecutive years and is a four-time defending champion, and they are looking to continue their dynasty.
– By Shawn Farshchi
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
