SCAD sports roundup: January 9
Men’s Swim Team:
The Men’s Swim Team, ranked third in the nation based on a NAIA Swimming and Diving Coaches Association poll released December 4, faced tough competition against two of the premier teams in the NCAA. NC State’s men were ranked 18th in the nation based on latest NCAA College Swimming Coaches Association of America poll, while the University of Georgia men returned 16 letter winners from a team that finished third in the Southeastern Conference last season.
In the 200 Medley Relay, the Bees’ team of Ryan Searles, Marc Fleischmann, Mark Shvartsman and Patrick Cardillo finished just 4.42 seconds (1:36.04) behind the winning UGA team. In the 400 FR Relay the Bees team of Sean Sloat, Shvartsman, Zach Redpath and Cardillo fell just 4.66 seconds shy of a second place finish. The same was true for the 200 FR Relay team of Sloat, his brother, Ryan Sloat, Redpath and Searles. They were a mere 4.55 seconds out of a second place finish (1:27.91).
And finally, the 800 FR Relay team of Searles, Cardillo, Shvartsman, and S. Sloat took fifth place with a time of 7:24.06.
The best finish for the Bees’ relay teams was in the 400 FR where S. Sloat, Shvartsman, Redpath and Cardillo finished at 3:12.86, good for fourth place. Bradley Green turned in a fifth place effort in the 1000 FR to provide the best individual effort of the day for SCAD.
Women’s Swim Team:
NC State’s women had finished 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, while the UGA women have won three consecutive SEC titles and placed second in the NCAA Championship last year. It’s tough enough to return from a three week holiday break, but for the Bees to have to face elite competition from the NCAA is another matter. Nevertheless, the Lady Bees performed admirably. The ladies took four 4th place finishes and one 2nd place finish.
In the 200 FR Relay, the team of Haley Thompson, Heather Partlow, Claire Partlow and Fanny Varga took a fourth place finish with a time of 1:42.51. In the 400 FR Relay, H. Partlow, Norah Stroh, Varga, and C. Partlow took another fourth place finish with a time of 3:41.41.
In the individual events Hannah Legg took fourth in the 200 IM (2:12.85), while Caroline Lepesant finished in the same position in the 500 FR with a time of 5:03.00. The time was only 2.87 seconds out of second place. But it was in the 1000 Freestyle that Lepesant really shined. She completed the event with a time of 10:11.65. The time was good for a 2nd place finish, but it also provided Lepesant with an all-time SCAD record for that event.
